The Amidah of the High Holy Days - Sovereignty and Forgiveness
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.
The Music of the Rosh HaShanah Amidah
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.
Avinu Malkeinu and the New Reform Machzor (Mishkan HaNefesh)
Many years ago, during the Yom Kippur morning service, a certain rabbi was interrupted (albeit politely) by the oldest member of the synagogue. He asked if he could ascend the bimah and ask the rabbi a question. How could the rabbi say no?
The Music of Avinu Malkeinu
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 event Mattel or Hasbro comes knocking at my door.)
The Shofar Service: Malchiyot, Zichronot, Shofarot
The blowing of the shofar is surely one of the high points of the Rosh Hashanah morning service. But the “Shofar Service” as the discrete entity we know today is actually a creation of Reform liturgists. Located at the end of the Torah service, before the Torah is returned to the ark, and including the three sections of Malchiyot (biblical verses dealing with God’s Sovereignty), Zichronot (biblical verses dealing with God’s Attentiveness), andShofarot (biblical verses dealing with the sounding of the Shofar), this is a synthesis of two different pieces of traditional liturgy
The New Reform Machzor and the Shofar 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 in the peal of the shofar. Can you imagine Rosh Hashanah without it
Visiting Tel Aviv: A Peek at Reform Teens’ Cultural Zionism Curriculum
Teacher: “Class, what’s the definition of Zionism?”
Students, in unison: “Zionism is the aspiration of the Jewish people to build a Jewish democratic state in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel)!”
"What Will You Do at Such a Time as This?"
Editor's note: The text that follows was presented before a live audience at the 2019 URJ Biennial.
What Will You Do at a Time Such as This?
Editor's note: The text that follows was presented before a live audience at the 2019 Union for Reform Judaism Biennial.
Congress was busy in December. How did social justice issues fare?
Congress’s last week in session in 2019 was dramatic, tense, and consequential for millions of people in America and around the world.