What's Happening in the Torah? Rosh HaShanah Activities for Families
Yom Sheini shel Rosh HaShanah for Tweens
"Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, 'Abraham,' and he answered, 'Here I am." (Genesis 22:1)
Torah Readings for Rosh Hashanah
The Torah and Haftarah readings for Rosh Hashanah all connect with, and illustrate, one or another of the themes of the holiday. I use the plural advisedly here, because there have been a variety of readings from early on-long before the onset of modernity and the Reform movement.
Mishkan HaNefesh, Rosh HaShanah Morning and Torah Reading Options
The most traditional texts for the Torah reading on Rosh HaShanah morning are Genesis 21 and Genesis 22. In many congregations that observe two days of the holiday, it is most customary to read 21 on the first day and 22 on the second day. Genesis 21 begins with the notion that God remembered our matriarch Sarah and enabled her to have a child. The idea of remembering is tied to a name of Rosh HaShanah in the Bible: the Day of Remembrance. This is the lesson: God remembers us as God remembers Sarah. To paraphrase a very different cultural artifact: “God knows when we have been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.
Yom Rishon shel Rosh HaShanah for Tweens
Do you know about the binding of Isaac? Find out more in this edition of Torah for Tweens.
Rosh Chodesh Elul
Parashat R'eih concludes with details concerning our sacred calendar (Deuteronomy 16). While other books tell of how to keep the holy days, here we see the reasons why. A rationale is given to the timing and rituals of our holy days.
Pursuing Social Justice: Yom Kippur Activities for Families
Creating New Rituals and Tradition for the School Year and the New Year
For children, traditions and rituals are significant; they provide predictability, support, and familiarity, while bringing families together and creating unity and a sense of belonging.