BY RABBI JOSEF DAVIDSON
• Published October 14, 2022
Despite the fact that I grew up in Denver in the semiarid state of Colorado, where there were few biting insects (except for chiggers!), my family never went camping. We would have picnics in the foothills of the mountains, usually around Buffalo Bill’s...
BY SUZANNE EPSTEIN-LANG, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
• Published October 10, 2022
On the way to Yom Kippur services, I began the following sentence, "Girls, Sukkot starts on Sunday…." I would have completed this sentence by saying, "We're really not going to be at home much next week," " It always blows over," or, "The weather never...
JACKIE HAJDENBERG, JTA
• Published October 9, 2022
(JTA) — Every seven years, in ancient times, Jewish men, women, and children would gather at the Temple on the first day of Sukkot to hear the king of Jerusalem read aloud from the Torah.
In 2022, there’s no king and no Temple, and more than half...
RABBI BRIGITTE ROSENBERG
• Published October 7, 2022
Just before his death, G-d allowed Moses to ascend Mount Nebo and view the land of Israel from a distance. Can you picture it?
An elderly Moses, in long white robes, leaning on a staff atop a mountain, content and looking out over the land G-d promised...
By Lior Zaltzman, Kveller
• Published October 3, 2022
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is coming up on the evening of October 4, 2023. If Yom Kippur feels extra heavy for you this year, we’ve got some good news: Emmy-nominated actress, neuroscientist, and Jewish mama Mayim Bialik is here to bring...
By MJL Staff, My Jewish Learning via JTA
• Published October 3, 2022
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, starts at sundown on Friday, October. 11. Traditionally one of the most somber days on the Jewish calendar, it’s known for fasting and repentance — not to mention killer caffeine withdrawal headaches.
However,...
Leora Krygier, Jewish Women’s Archive, Special For The Jewish Light
• Published September 29, 2022
Each year before the High Holidays, my grandmother washed and ironed my father and grandfather’s kittels, the plain, white, robe-like garments that men wear for Yom Kippur and the Passover seder. She didn’t trust the washer and dryer with...
Adam B. Cohen, Arizona State University, Special For The Jewish Light
• Published September 29, 2022
The Jewish High Holidays are fast approaching: Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. While the first really commemorates the creation of the world, Jews view both holidays as a chance to reflect on our shortcomings, make amends and seek forgiveness, both from...
RABBI CARNIE SHALOM ROSE
• Published September 29, 2022
Parashat Vaylech is the shortest parashah in the corpus of the lectionary, the weekly readings of the Torah as we have them in our shuls. Yet despite its brevity, it possesses several critical teachings intended not only for our ancestors, the Ancient...
By Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21c
• Published September 28, 2022
On the Day of Atonement, Jews across the world pray and fast. For secular and non-Jewish Israelis alike, it’s a unique holiday without cars or commerce.
BY RABBI ELIZABETH HERSH
• Published September 23, 2022
I was 6 years old when Harry Chapin’s song “Cat’s in the Cradle” debuted. It resurfaced in my life during my high school youth group years. Remember sitting around a campfire during Havdalah? The song session afterward always included this iconic...
Mimi David, Special For The Jewish Light
• Published September 22, 2022
Rosh Hashanah can seem confusing. On one hand, we know it is the Day of Judgment, a day on which the future of every human being and really of the entire world is discerned.
On the other hand, it is a day of celebration. We wear our nicest clothes,...
