Rosh Hashanah
Parashat Nitzavim is always read on the shabbat before Rosh Hashanah, and in it, quite fittingly, is a poignant passage that speaks of the process of teshuva, of our return to God and to the land, after a long period of distancing and exile and scattering. The passage (Deuteronomy 30:1-10) uses the root שוב, […]
WOW (Word of the Week): שוב, Return (Parashat Nitzavim and Rosh Hashanah) Read More »
Below is a meditation script on the topic of shofar blowing. The long steady Tekiah sounds of the shofar always surround the more broken sounds of the shevarim and the teruah . . . (Click image to read more)
MEDITATION SCRIPT: The Tekiah Container for Our Brokenness (Rosh Hashanah) Read More »
Tekiah shevarim-teruah Tekiah. The long steady Tekiah sounds of the shofar always surround the other more broken sounds of the shevarim and the teruah. In this meditation, we consider the shevarim and teruah sounds to represent our brokenness and suffering, and the Tekiahs that stand on either side to represent the divine container
MEDITATION: The Tekiah Container for Our Brokenness (Rosh Hashanah) Read More »
I’ve been suffering a lot lately over my children. Nothing extreme is going on with them, but each one has his or her life challenges and suffering to go through, and I find it painful to watch. In looking through the readings for the two days of Rosh Hashanah, it strikes me that a
SHORT ESSAY: Handling Our Children’s Suffering (Rosh Hashanah) Read More »
Through the inner work of teshuva, some shift happens inside oneself with respect to these sins — “they become for him” something different, something better; they start out seeming like sins but they end up, in an atmosphere of love, seeming like merits. (Click image to read more)
SHORT ESSAY: Turning Misdeeds into Merits (Teshuvah) Read More »
One thing bothers me about the story of the Akedah — its end. In the story, Avraham endures an unimaginable trial of faith, successfully demonstrating his willingness to sacrifice even his beloved, long-awaited son to God. But how does the story conclude? Avraham is rewarded for his faith. His son is not sacrificed and
SHORT ESSAY: Akedah: On Faith and Happy Endings (Rosh Hashanah) Read More »
The blur of words on these praying days . . . (Click image to read more)
POEM: The Blur of Words (Rosh Hashanah) Read More »
What is the most important thing to remember every day? (Click image to read more)
POEM: What to Remember (Rosh Hashanah) Read More »
The shofar is a cry inside each of us that needs to be let out. It is a cry of overwhelm and sometimes despair. O God, this life you gave us, it feels impossible to live, impossible to get done what needs to get done, impossible to really do it well and right, impossible to
QUICK THOUGHT: A Shofar Reflection in Three Parts (Rosh Hashanah) Read More »
A baby in her mother’s womb is taught the whole Torah, according to the Talmud. Then, when she is about to touch the air of the world, an angel strikes her mouth and she forgets it (Niddah 30b). She forgets, but not entirely. They say that babies develop a taste for the foods that their
SHORT ESSAY: On Teshuva: A Return To Something Familiar (Rosh Hashanah) Read More »