Both films show us ways to examine our flaws and make amends, either with the people we’ve wronged or for the ways we’ve scorned the sacrifices of those who came before us.

I grew up going to services. A lot of services. I was adept at counting the ceiling tiles, reaching into the thousands as my grasp of numbers grew more sophisticated.

Long before I became a rabbi, I was a DJ and a hip-hop-head. Music always scored my life, and for years I've wondered, "How can that music be harnessed for religious practice?"

Rabbi Max Chaiken, our Ten Minutes of Torah commentator for the Book of Deuteronomy, is the associate rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in Los Angeles, CA. We talk to him about his Jewish journey and the ideas behind his commentaries.

For the first time this year, High Holidays will be conducted remotely for our community – but it will show us that we can, as Rabbi John Rosove taught, truly “overcome the past for the sake of a better future.”

If the High Holidays were to be pared down to their very essence, what are some words and phrases that might come to mind?

Belonging. Connection. Memory. An accounting of the soul.

These are just some of the words that drove the creation of the URJ

Elul is a time of self-reflection, forgiveness, and exploration. These three new tools can help you make the most of this month before the High Holidays.

Middot, attributes or character traits, literally means “measures” or “weights.” Call to mind the image of a scale: The process of tikkun middot, of repairing our attributes, is about bringing our character traits into balance.

I’m praying that these weeks of consolation before the High Holidays will give us the time to confront our sins and respond in ways that will help us to heal from our brokenness and find the courage and resolve to build a better year for all.