1. Heads Up! Surprise! Rosh Hashanah does not mean “New Year” in Hebrew. It actually means “Head of the Year.” Just like your head (brain) tells your body what to do, how you behave on Rosh Hashanah has far-reaching consequences for the...

This article originally appeared on The Nosher. We asked five noted chefs and food writers what they will serve at home to mark the Jewish New Year, and (spoiler alert) they all plan to weave symbols of sweetness — hallmarks of the holiday — into...

One of the most fun, family-friendly, holidays in the Jewish calendar is just around the corner—Sukkot (starting the evening of Sunday, Oct. 9 and ending the evening of Oct. 16). But if you have ever thought of building your own sukkah, now is the time...

How many times have you heard the sermon about how, as Jews, we are commanded to remember and care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger because we were strangers in the land of Egypt?  Sometimes, the goal is to urge action: “Remember that...

People are often surprised and, to be fair, a little wary, when they learn the topic of my rabbinical thesis. While many of my classmates chose practical themes that would help them in their rabbinate, such as  “Judaism in the Age of iPhones” or...

The month of Elul is here! It’s a time leading up to Rosh Hashanah when we have the opportunity to tune in to our spiritual concerns, reflect on our dreams and challenges over the year that’s gone by, and consider areas for change and growth...

At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Moses has finally led the Israelites across the wilderness and he turns his eyes to gaze on the Promised Land. It seems as if it should be a joyous moment, but we know that it’s actually bittersweet,...

We have all been through so much these past 2 years. Not just Covid, but multiple mass shootings, racial and political tensions, the economy, and the destruction caused by changing weather patterns. Loss of life and place, loss of our daily life-patterns,...

In what many scholars, Robert Adler included, have observed, The Book of Deuteronomy (Devarim) is “…the most sustained deployment of rhetoric in the Torah”. If you go back to a previous article I wrote about the Book of Numbers, I framed this year’s...

We are dreaming peace all the time now, the evidence of that broken letter vavin the word shalom of briti shalom, covenant of peace, in Numbers 25:12, that may be what's holding it up. The vav in shalom is broken. Let's fix the vav in the...

Yael was a recent college graduate looking for her first teaching job in Israel. She finally found a position she thought she would enjoy, teaching beginner Hebrew skills to new Israeli immigrants in an ulpan. Nervous but confident in her creative classroom...