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Your Guide to Fasting (or Not) on Yom Kippur
For many Jews, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a fasting holiday – a day during which we abstain from eating, drinking, and even brushing our teeth or using perfumes. (Learn more about what we abstain from and why.)
What’s the Difference Between the Secular and Jewish New Year?
While there are significant differences between how we usher in and observe the secular and Jewish New Year, both are times of transition that offer us an opportunity for self-reflection. Here are the key differences.
With Wounds Still Open, We Ask: Where is God?
I do not believe that God sent us COVID-19, and I do not believe God will cure it. That is for humans to do, using our God-given intellect and ambition to develop the vaccines and treatments that will help stop the spread of this natural virus.
On Running Away, Returning, and Teaching the Story of Jonah
We hear the story of Jonah on Yom Kippur, as an example of the power of repentance and redemption. But my favorite thing about this story is how perfectly messy it is to heed God's call.
An Open Letter to Those Who are Struggling with an Eating Disorder on Yom Kippur
At Yom Kippur, we wish one another "a safe and easy fast," but for those of us with eating disorders, it will be neither safe nor easy. It will be dangerous, but more so detrimental.
Yachol Nuchal, Surely We Can Overcome
Do we see ourselves and this moment as grasshoppers, or do we jump on top of our chairs and say “Yachol nuchal, surely we can overcome this”?
Have We Forgotten the Call of the Shofar Already?
"Have we forgotten the call of the shofar already / To gather and stand up for what’s right? / Have we forgotten what shofar’s demanding / That we pursue justice, compassion, holy light?"
How to Turn Your Home into a Sanctuary for the High Holidays
Like our ancestors before us, we must again bring worship “inside” and create a sacred space at home while we are in front of our computers.
RAP-ENTANCE: A Soul-Opening Experience for the High Holidays
Long before I became a rabbi, I was a DJ and a hip-hop-head. Music always scored my life, and for years I've wondered, "How can that music be harnessed for religious practice?"
The Season of Healing
The High Holidays are a time of introspection and self-assessment in anticipation of repentance, forgiveness, thanksgiving and rejoicing. It is a season of healing.