New & Updated Resources: Preparing for the High Holidays in Challenging Times
A Tishah B’Av Teaching: We Can Change the Status Quo of Our Divided People
Trying to endure loss in isolation is more than painful; it puts our lives at risk. Rambam understood that when he described the consequences of not being connecting to Am Yisrael at times of trauma, including our fast days.
How Do Reform Jews Understand Tishah B’Av?
Cry No More, a Prayer for Yom Kippur
This prayer is about having compassion for ourselves while repairing the damage we’ve done to self and others. I wrote it after my first Yom Kippur in Jerusalem, my first in Israel as an oleh chadash (a new immigrant).
An Alternate Un’taneh Tokef
Rabbi Joseph Meszler offers a new take on an old prayer for these Days of Awe.
What Greetings are Appropriate on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur?
Here are the appropriate greetings for the Jewish new year and the Day of Atonement.
5 Things to Avoid on Yom Kippur in Favor of a Spiritual Workout
To devote ourselves to an accurate accounting of the soul, it is customary to refrain from five specific activities related to our bodies on Yom Kippur.
Racial Justice Resources for the High Holidays
When Winter Storm Jonas hit D.C. in January, we were eagerly looking forward to the balmy, humid temperatures of the D.C. summer. Now, with August already upon us, the summer will sadly be over soon.
How to Focus on Racial Justice During the High Holidays
This High Holidays season, as we think about racial justice and voting rights this late summer and fall, we’re also thinking about other key issues that are important to repairing our broken world and combating racial injustice.
From Melancholy to Love: A Journey for the Jewish People and Me
I first learned about Tu B’Av during the summer I began rabbinical school in 1996. On a basic level, I understood it to be one of those minor Jewish holidays that did not have a “real name,” but was referred to simply by its calendrical date – the 15th of Av. Clearly a post-biblical holiday.