Search

Search Results

Displaying 1 - 10 of 18

The Music of Avinu Malkeinu

Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky

In the game “Truth-or-Dare,” I choose “truth” nearly every time. I’m not much of a dare-taker. Thus, if you and I were playing “Special Edition Truth-or-Dare: High Holy Days,” I would confess that the prayer Avinu Malkeinu provides me with both my second-favorite liturgical moment and my second-greatest pet peeve of the year’s liturgy. (Note: Even though I may have to repent for it, I will leave you in suspense about my favorite liturgical moment and my greatest liturgical pet peeve. Also, “Special Edition Truth-or-Dare: High Holy Days” is fictional, although I hereby declare copyright in the event Mattel or Hasbro comes knocking at my door.)

Rethinking the Holy Days

Rabbi Donald Kunstadt

I’ve come to the conclusion we need to change the date of Simchat Torah. Our Jewish festivals must be re-envisioned as inspirational community gatherings of joyful spiritual Jewish celebration. Every single festival needs to be a time of great community involvement and meaning.

A person in a yellow jacket faces the ocean while standing at the edge of a beach with a line of footprints in the sand

This Yom Kippur, Let Your Emotions Serve as "Radical Blessings"

C.E. Harrison

As we no longer serve God through temple sacrifices, many Jews have come to understand the entire world, in essence, to be God’s temple. This year, I believe we have vandalized God’s temple with the blood of the innocent.

A womans outstretched hands holding three red apples

How to Get into the High Holidays State of Mind

Rabbi Julie Zupan

It's a challenge and necessity, especially during this pandemic, to set boundaries between work time and family or personal time, between home office and home. How do we do that, emotionally?

Laptop on a table in a living room displaying a man in a kippah blowing a shofar

In Celebration of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur at Home

Micaela Hellman-Tincher

Like many, I'm mourning the chance to "go" to High Holiday services at my synagogue. But I've also had the joy of observing Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur at home, so I know this year will be wonderfully meaningful.

Man holding a laptop in bed while wearing a shirt and tie on top with plaid pajama pants on the bottom

3 Previously Frowned-Upon Behaviors to Embrace During the High Holidays at Home

Rabbi Paul Kipnes

The new normal of distanced coronavirus kehilla t'filah (communal prayer) offers new ways to enhance your Home High Holidays. Consider these three previously banned behaviors to warm up your worship.

Wine glass exploding against a black background

Shards of Glass: A Poem for the New Year

Michelle Shapiro Abraham, MAJE, RJE

Remind my tired soul, I beg You / My kitchen is far too clean and the china is still in the basement / Remind me how to stop the mourning / for tables that don’t need extensions / quiet synagogues with no children to be shushed...

Film reel and a spilled container of popcorn against a red background

Two New Films, "An American Pickle" and "Palm Springs," Reflect High Holiday Themes

Wes Hopper

Both films show us ways to examine our flaws and make amends, either with the people we’ve wronged or for the ways we’ve scorned the sacrifices of those who came before us.

Honey dipper dripping honey over a small glass bowl of honey

How to Use the URJ Reflection Tool

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman

Rabbi Leora Kaye

We recently introduced the URJ Reflection Project, a tool for the High Holidays that can be found at reflect.reformjudaism.org. Here, we share suggestions of how to use its many ideas with your congregation.

Inspired 5781: More Art, More Awe

Rebecca Guber

I grew up going to services. A lot of services. I was adept at counting the ceiling tiles, reaching into the thousands as my grasp of numbers grew more sophisticated. The melodies became part of my life soundtrack; I hummed them as my mind wandered during the rabbi’s sermon.