Last spring, Bob Kaiser, a member of Nusach Hari B’nai Zion and Olivette resident, spoke with a Muslim neighbor who had just finished celebrating Ramadan. Kaiser learned that they both missed the same thing: community. “There are lessons from COVID,...

The festival of Sukkot is one of the easiest on the Jewish calendar: You’re not required to fast, repent or eat copious amounts of donuts for a whole week. Instead, (almost) all that’s required is to erect a simple structure in your garden or...

Parashat Haazinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-52) finds Moses calling on heaven and earth to witness his words. Moses begins by thanking the Almighty and describes the special care afforded the people of Israel. To his disappointment, the people have consistently...

It’s old news by now, but wow, the High Holidays are early this year. With erev Rosh Hashanah colliding with Labor Day and Simchat Torah wrapping up before the month of September ends, I feel like I’ve been flung into fall even though most days...

A tradition in some ultra-Orthodox communities before Yom Kippur is kaparot, the ceremonial swinging of a chicken...

(Israel21c) - At Yom Kippur, Israel grinds to a halt. For 25 hours, schools, restaurants and businesses shut down, roads empty out as driving is prohibited, and there are no buses, no trains, and no planes. Known as the Day of Atonement, it’s...

"A Look at the Jewish Year", a new series from the National Library of Israel and the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, includes three videos highlighting core texts and concepts surrounding the holidays in the Jewish month of Tishrei, as well as source...

There are many explanations for fasting on Yom Kippur, some Talmudic and others more spiritual. A form of self-denial, fasting is believed to bring us closer to G-d and more in touch with ourselves.  My brother-in-law Mark Gutman, who has been reading...

Maqam Bayat. Every Shabbat is associated with a musical figure, a maqam, Arabic cognate of maqom signifying “place.” This is the last day of my life, Moshe Rabbeinu said, and he went and spoke these words to all Israel: “I’m not going out,...

The summer before 10th grade, some friends of mine pulled off what I have long thought had to be the most outrageous prank of all time: spoiling the biggest twist in the Harry Potter series for an entire sleepaway camp. It happened at Camp Ramah in...

This week, we read from Parshah Nitzavim, the same parshah we read on Yom Kippur morning. We are near the end of the book of Deuteronomy, as well as the death of Moshe rabbeinu, Moses our teacher. Even though the end of the Torah is near, Moses continues...