RJ Blog

By Rabbi Leon A. Morris There was a time, more than century and a half ago, when piyutim were seen largely as a kind of cultural burden to be cast aside in order to make the service shorter and more meaningful. Early liturgical reformers argued that the siddur and machzor had grown too lengthy and no longer inspired modern Jews. Piyutim – medieval poetic extensions of the traditional prayers, with allusions incomprehensible to the average congregant – were first on the chopping block. The irony, however, lies in the fact that the piyut was itself a sort of liturgical reform. While [...]

by Rabbi Jonathan Biatch Editor’s Note:  This post is the second of two about Congregation Emet VeShalom.  Read the complementary post. The double air-kiss; you’ve gotta love it!  It is a European custom becoming more widespread in Israel, and it’s quite contagious.  You’ve seen it: once on the right side, then once on the left.  By the conclusion of my first worship service at Emet VeShalom, I had received many such kisses of warmth and friendship.  I quickly learned that the relatively small size of Emet VeShalom says nothing about its welcoming spirit, or its obvious passion, or its members’ [...]

by Sharon Mann Editor’s Note:  This post is the first of two about Congregation Emet VeShalom.  Read the complementary post. Reform Judaism and religious pluralism, which are taken for granted in the United States, are not axiomatic in Israel. As a member of Emet VeShalom—a Reform congregation in Nahariya, a peripheral area of Israel eight miles from Lebanon’s border—I know maintaining a non-Orthodox congregation is fraught with challenges. At present, one major challenge facing ours is that we do not have a rabbi serving as spiritual leader of our community. Our members are facing this challenge by stepping up and [...]

“Camp Newman helps us feel closer to God”. This is how I opened my dialogue with our 2013 leadership staff at our annual Spring retreat. You could have imagined the response. Even some of our Rabbinic students felt uneasy about this language and its timing (opening conversation). “God” talk is scary for many of us.

By Rabbi Edwin Goldberg Part One: Don’t “Bury the Lead,” or Why We Have Placed the Shofar Service into Three Parts of the Service The traditional High Holy Day prayer book, as opposed to the Reform versions produced in the last century and more, includes a service, musaf, that evokes the ancient sacrifices.  Reform Judaism abandoned this service, due to its musty connotations of “barbarian” rites but a key element of this service on Rosh Hashanah, the sounding of the shofar was maintained.  Sounding of the shofar was retained no doubt because the very essence of Rosh Hashanah is bound up [...]

by Rabbi Hara Person As we all try and process the horrors of the Boston marathon bombing, we must remember to stop and appreciate the good works that often gets overshadowed by the seemingly endless parade of horrible we read about each day. Almost six months ago almost the entire east coast was rocked by Superstorm Sandy.  While many of us have picked up and moved on, two New York-area congregations, Temple Sinai in Massapequa and West End Temple in Neponsit, are still picking up the pieces.  Like many coastal-area homes and businesses, the synagogues suffered severe storm damage which [...]

By Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky In the game “Truth-or-Dare,” I choose “truth” nearly every time. I’m not much of a dare-taker. Thus, if you and I were playing “Special Edition Truth-or-Dare: High Holy Days,” I would confess that the prayer Avinu Malkeinu provides me with both my second-favorite liturgical moment and my second-greatest pet peeve of the year’s liturgy. (Note: Even though I may have to repent for it, I will leave you in suspense about my favorite liturgical moment and my greatest liturgical pet peeve. Also, “Special Edition Truth-or-Dare: High Holy Days” is fictional, although I hereby declare copyright in the [...]

By Rabbi Richard Sarason It is an irony of history that the very language now so controversial in Avinu Malkeinu (namely, the masculine-gendered, hierarchical images of God as “Father” and “King”) is what made this prayerful appeal so distinctive and effective for its original users. Avinu Malkeinu is a penitential litany.  That means that it uses the (now problematic) refrain, “Our Father, our King,” repeatedly to invoke the gracious favor of a God who is conceived of as both distant and approachable, both stern and merciful; whose powerful nature can be portrayed as both Ruler and Parent toward the people [...]

By Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky            Each year as I prepare for the High Holy Days, I return to the familiar melodies that make up our Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services. I no longer need to review the unique melodies of the Rosh HaShanah Amidah (prayers said while standing), because after chanting them a dozen times per year for over a dozen years, they are emblazoned on my mind. There is a great deal of consistency within the Amidah, the central portion of every prayer service, but there are certain changes that take place depending upon the time of day, weekday or [...]

Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) leaders today joined Knesset and Women of the Wall (WOW) members to pray at the Jewish holy site, the Western Wall, to celebrate the start of the new Jewish month and to promote religious freedom in Israel. This monthly service, which today commemorated the month when Jews celebrate their freedom from slavery in Egypt, is held to advocate change to Orthodox rulings in Israel barring women from praying out loud at the Western Wall. According to media, today was the first time that police did not detain any participants.

by Annette Powers, Dana Stein and Jane Herman Annette:  Despite the drenching rain in New York City, it was standing room only at Town and Village Synagogue this morning, where hundreds gathered to daven Rosh Chodesh Nisan in solidarity with Women of the Wall’s mission for the rights of all people to pray freely at the Kotel. The crowd was a mix of men, women and children across the spectrum of Jewish denominations. There were students from day schools and youth groups, Jewish professionals and lay leaders, rabbis and cantors. Some women wore tallitot; some didn’t. Some women wore tefillin; [...]

By Rabbi Edwin Goldberg The Amidah for the High Holy Days features thematic additions for the Days of Awe.  One significant addition on Rosh Hashanah is “M’loch” – a prayer that celebrates the coronation of God as the Ultimate Ruler.  On Yom Kippur, a similarly sounding prayer is added in its place, “M’chol,” – a request for forgiveness from God.  The Rosh Hashanah addition reflects the fundamental theme of God as universal Creator and Ruler.  The addition in Yom Kippur mirrors the basic theme of God’s forgiveness.  In creating a new machzor for the Reform Movement the editorial committee has [...]

by Cantor Rosalie Boxt Man, I’ve been talking a lot. Hours and hours! More than usual, even (In grade school, I was called Ms. Butt-insky for chatting so much.) I don’t love talking on the phone and do not keep up by phone with as many friends as I should, but in the past three weeks, I’ve had a dozen or more hours of conversations, and all about the same thing: prayer and worship. In all aspects of my life these days, I’m talking to people about what makes “good worship” – at a cantors’ convention, at Reform Movement events, [...]

by Dr. Richard Sarason The basic Rosh HaShanah Amidah is an elaboration of that for the Festivals. Both have seven benedictions, as on Shabbat—the first three and last three of the daily Amidah, with the Kedushat hayom (“Sanctity of the Day”) benediction in the middle.1 On both Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, the Kedushat hayom benediction builds on the text for the Festivals: 1. The first portion of the benediction, beginning Attah v’chartanu, celebrates the gift of the festival calendar—which is understood to enact the true, cosmic calendar—as a mark of God’s special love for the Jewish people. The distinctive [...]