Rosh HaShanah in Lisbon: A Tale of Family and Connections
This year was the first time in a long time I wasn’t with my immediate family in Australia or my cousins in Israel to celebrate Rosh HaShanah.
Our Second Annual Rosh Hashanah Sermon Round-Up
This was the year that Reform rabbis spoke about race. More than 200 rabbis participated the NAACP’s Journey for Justice, and it gave rise to some powerful sermons.
At Rosh HaShanah, Reform Jews Appeal for an International Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis
In Jewish tradition, the entire month before Rosh HaShanah is devoted to a searching examination of our words and deeds over the past year. This examination, this accounting, is both personal and communal.
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.
The Year the Library Became My Synagogue
I attended a small college in upstate New York, about five hours from my home, and I did not go home for Rosh HaShanah my freshman year. In terms of observing the holiday, I didn’t know what to do with myself.
How I Try to Create Jewish Memories for my Grandkids
What are your earliest memories of “doing Jewish”? I have a smattering of recollections from when I was 5, 6, and 7, though not much before that. Even from those years, I can only call up bits and pieces: moments, vignettes, colors, flavors.
Selichot: Returning to God and to Each Other
I have always loved the High Holidays. Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are amongst my favorite times of the year, ritually and emotionally.
How Will You Reflect on This Year?
The 10 days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are a time for sincere reflection.
Two-Fold High Holiday Prep: Our Congregations and Ourselves
As congregational leaders, you may find that the month of Elul and the High Holidays fly by in a whirl of logistical details – arranging for tickets, ensuring enough chairs, assigning aliyot, planning the community’s break-the-fast – necessary to ensure meaningful worship for members and visitors alike. That is indeed holy work. Often, we fail to devote adequate time and attention to cheshbon ha’nefesh (accounting of the soul) – the act of taking stock of the spiritual health of both ourselves as individuals and our congregations.
How Two Congregations Are Recovering from Hurricane Florence
Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov was new to her congregation in Wilmington, NC, when she faced an unprecedented challenge: a Category 4 hurricane during the Days of Awe.