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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.
Experiencing Rosh Chodesh at the Kotel
This morning, we went to the Western Wall to pray with Women of the Wall for Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the festival celebrating the new month.
What’s Different about High Holidays Challah?
In Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah taught, “If there is no bread, there is no Torah; and if there is no Torah, there is no bread.” I love these words. They echo in my mind when I partake in two of my favorite almost daily activities, the study of Torah and the baking bread. On the holidays, these two passions intersect, as they have for generations of Jews, when I shape challah. The traditional shapes for challot (plural) can be Torah study on our very festival tables.
How to Use the URJ Reflection Tool
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.
Beyond Apples and Honey
In two online sessions, we explored the ideas, themes, spiritual challenges, and opportunities Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur present to us – both as individuals and as parents. We hope that these sessions inspire you to prepare to make the High Holidays worthwhile and meaningful.
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.
Who Should Teach About Hanukkah and What Should They Be Teaching?
Now that my daughter is in preschool, I've come to realize that hearing about cultural and religious practices directly from the practitioners only emphasizes our otherness.
Streaming into the New Year
Last Rosh HaShanah morning, I was forced to admit it: my bronchitis was too severe to allow me to make the evening rounds of dinner and services. But the thought of missing the first of the High Holiday services was as distressing to me as my coughing and wheezing.
Torah Study: Tips for Leading a Weekly Family Discussion
With the Torah commentary resources on this site: Torah for Tots, Torah for Tweens, and Torah for Teens, you can create a Shabbat dinner ritual for your family of discussing the weekly parasha (Torah portion).
Unetaneh Tokef in the Time of a Pandemic
The Unetaneh Tokef has a long list of ways that people die, often violently, a way of shocking us into realizing our mortality. The original prayer, however, can be traumatizing. This version seeks a more empathetic approach to mortality.