The Torah In Haiku: R'eih
A Look Into the Millennial Mind During High Holiday Season
Ah, autumn! The crisp air. The pumpkin-spice everything. The relief of no more sweat dripping down my entire body. The ever-stylish knee-high boot and leather jacket combination. The High Holidays. The dilemma of the High Holidays. As a single twentysomething living in a big city, I’ve become that stereotypical Jewish millennial who has yet to join a synagogue.
How Synagogues Can Be a House of Prayer for All People
“I will bring them to My holy mount, and I will cause them to rejoice in My house of prayer, their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7)
How is it po
It’s Never Too Late (or Too Early) for New Year Greetings
Fans of “Seinfeld” may recall an exchange between Jerry and Elaine in which they discuss the appropriate timeline for delivering new year greetings. “I once got Happy New Year'd in March … it’s pathetic,” griped Jerry.
The Jewish calendar has a natural marker for when it’s appropriate to start wishing friends and loved ones a happy New Year. The Jewish month that precedes the Jewish New Year is called Elul, and the first day of Elul, Rosh Chodesh Elul, is the official beginning of the High Holiday season.
The America I Love: Taking a Stand for Racial Justice
Too often in our own day, politicians of all stripes seek advantage through the denigration of others, through the promulgation of fear, and through the dissemination of hate. But not all views have validity. Some are anathema to everything we hold dear.
A Powerful New Exhibit Explores Numbers, Judaism, and Symbolism
As the global language of humanity, numbers have been integral to Jewish life, rituals, belief, and history from antiquity to today. At a new exhibit, more than 50 contemporary artists explore numbers and their symbolic meanings through a range of media.
Selichot: Warm-Up to the High Holiday Season
Ushering in the High Holiday season, Selichot – which falls this year on Saturday night, September 24th – is the warm-up stretch that precedes the spiritual workout we give our souls during the Days of Awe.
Remembering Tragedy: A Rabbi Recalls 9/11 in New York
I do not remember whether we prayed or sang, although we must have done so. But I remember the feeling – the knowing – that through everything that lay ahead, through all the news to come and the devastation that would surely ensue, that this sacred community would be there for each one of us. And I felt profoundly comforted by that outstretched hand.
Jake, Hank, Sandy, and Me: What These Jewish Athletes Have in Common
Compared with others over the centuries, I paid a piddling price to express my pride in being a Jew. But my small act of affirmation helped seal my career choice and allowed me to feel that I was one with Jake Pitler, Hank Greenberg, and Sandy Koufax.
Volunteerism is Alive and Well in Israel
Recently, I was riding the train north from Tel Aviv when a group of about a dozen teenagers boarded, wearing Mada uniforms and bearing backpacks or roll-ons. “Mada” is the acronym for Magen David Adom, Red Star of David, the Israeli Red Cross.
Many kids serve as Mada volunteers during high school, either out of inner motivation or as one of the ways to fulfill their 10th grade community service requirement. They have the chance to learn paramedic skills, experience some excitement, and explore various careers. The teens on the train were coming home from a summer training encampment. On a different train, on a different afternoon in August, I could have encountered a similar group, from any of many different youth organizations and movements in Israel that offer summer encampments for leadership and other skills training.