T'shuvah
Vidui
"Confession;" liturgical prayer recited throughout Yom Kippur; confessional said before death.
Yizkor
"Remember;" memorial service held on Yom Kippur and on the last day of Pesach, Shavout, and Sukkot.
Yom Kippur
"Day of Atonement;" holiest day of the Jewish year, which includes a focus on prayer, repentance and fasting.
Yom Tov
"Good Day;" the term, often pronounced as yuntiff (Yiddish) has come to mean "holiday;" "Good Yuntiff" is often used a holiday greeting.
Being Holy - and Staying Alive
Acharei Mot, the first of this week's two parashiyot, begins on an unsettling note—a reminder of the death of Aaron's sons and the suggestion that such tragedies might occur again unless the priests take specified steps to prevent them
Just Like Me, They Long(ed) to Be Close to You
In this week's double parashah, Acharei Mot/K'doshim, there's a one-sentence reference to the mortal sin of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, who brought "alien fire" into the Mishkan, which we read about in Parashat Sh'mini two weeks ago (see Leviticus 10:1-7).
A Rambling Rose
As the great flood story begins, we learn that Noah was "a righteous man; in his generation he was above reproach" (Genesis 6:9) and we wonder what kind of compliment has Noah just been paid.
How Does a Passover Seder Prepare Us for Yom Kippur?
Nakedness and Vulnerability
In Leviticus 18:3, in Acharei Mot, it is written, "You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or of the land of Canaan to which I am taking you."