How Not to Repent, as Taught by My Favorite TV Show
Season three of Transparent premieres September 23, and it couldn’t come at a more appropriate time: in the middle of Elul, the day before we begin reciting Selichot.
Check out the RAC's High Holiday Guide on Criminal Justice
Each day in this country, we are faced with harrowing truths about how our criminal justice system operates.
Why Apples and Honey?
In It to Win It: Similarities Between Elul and the Lottery
Aside from a date, what can these two events possibly have in common? Strange as it may seem, there are a few points of comparison.
How I Found My Spiritual Home - and More - in Judaism
For many years, I felt inhibited to knock on the door of a synagogue. Simultaneously, my heart and gut knew where I belonged. There is in fact Jewish ancestry on my father’s side – contested by some relatives; strong enough to reinforce my feelings of visceral kinship.
Emor for Teens: Shabbat Sha-raps
Preparing for the New You
A Look Into the Millennial Mind During High Holiday Season
Ah, autumn! The crisp air. The pumpkin-spice everything. The relief of no more sweat dripping down my entire body. The ever-stylish knee-high boot and leather jacket combination. The High Holidays. The dilemma of the High Holidays. As a single twentysomething living in a big city, I’ve become that stereotypical Jewish millennial who has yet to join a synagogue.
It’s Never Too Late (or Too Early) for New Year Greetings
Fans of “Seinfeld” may recall an exchange between Jerry and Elaine in which they discuss the appropriate timeline for delivering new year greetings. “I once got Happy New Year'd in March … it’s pathetic,” griped Jerry.
The Jewish calendar has a natural marker for when it’s appropriate to start wishing friends and loved ones a happy New Year. The Jewish month that precedes the Jewish New Year is called Elul, and the first day of Elul, Rosh Chodesh Elul, is the official beginning of the High Holiday season.
Redemption…With Popcorn: Five Movies for Selichot
Elul is famously a month of t'shuvah, returning and atonement, and these five films anticipate the penitential prayers.