Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A Memorial Prayer for Yom Kippur

by Rabbi Naomi Levy

I haven’t forgotten you, even though it’s been some time now since I’ve seen your face, touched your hand, heard your voice. You are with me. . .

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Meaning of Memory: A Yizkor Reflection

by Rabbi Naomi Levy

I grew up in a home filled with food and love and laughter and music and Yiddishkayt and stories. I was the youngest of four kids and we were part of. . .

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Feasting after fasting

By Judy Zeidler

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a holiday for serious fasting — no food or drink for 25 hours. At the end of the day, our thoughts inevitably. . .

Friday, August 10, 2012

Sao Paulo declares Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah official holidays

JTA

The Brazilian city of Sao Paulo – which has more than 11 million people -- declared Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Ramadan as official holidays.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Taking seven steps to ‘Sukkot happiness’

by Dasee Berkowitz, JTA

But are you happy? No, this isn’t your mother wanting another update on your life.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Jewish players at Chaminade sit out game for Yom Kippur

JTA

Some of the Jewish football players at a San Fernando Valley Catholic school will skip an annual rivalry game because of Yom Kippur.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Going around the world to break the fast

by Sybil Kaplan, JTA

Breaking the fast has its own set of traditions. Ashkenazim usually break the fast with something salty, like herring, because they believe fish. . .

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Food banks short, SOVA amps up High Holy Days appeal

By Julie Gruenbaum Fax

Adire situation is looming at regional food banks and distribution centers, as ever-increasing demand collides with government cuts, threatening the. . .

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

10Q Project: Answer life’s big questions online … Then reread next year

By Danielle Berrin

It might seem odd that 10Q, a project bent on promoting deep personal reflection and penetrating spiritual insight, would engage Joel Stein, a. . .

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

If you seat them, they will come

By Ryan E. Smith

Twice a year, many synagogues find themselves dealing with a wonderful but very practical problem: how to handle the huge numbers of people who show. . .

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Acting rabbi brings rebirth to 1920s shul

By Ryan E. Smith

For more than 35 years, Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock existed without a rabbi. No longer.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Yom Kippur without fasting: How kids can atone, too

by Sarah Chandler, MyJewishLearning.com

For most adults, the central experience of Yom Kippur is fasting. By abstaining from food and drink, we exercise control over our bodies and do not. . .

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Berman presses Egypt on lulavs

JTA

U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, a leading congressional Democrat, wrote the Egyptian prime minister urging him to export lulavs in time for Sukkot.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Make this the year of the apology

by Dasee Berkowitz, JTA

In the words of Elton John, why is it that “sorry seems to be the hardest word?”

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Yom Kippur: It’s fourth and long

by Edmon J. Rodman, JTA

Yom Kippur, the fourth quarter of the High Holidays, is coming and time is running out. Our seats are waiting, the gates are closing.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Dozing on the Days of Awe

by Edmon J. Rodman, JTA

Don’t let Maimonides catch you napping on Rosh HaShanah.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

From Ramadan to Elul: a California Chasid’s spiritual journey

by Andrew Friedman, JTA

For Lee Weissman, a Breslov Chasid in Irvine, Calif., the recent onset of Elul caps a spiritual journey he began a month ago with the start of the. . .

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

New machzor delves into heart of Rosh Hashanah

By Julie Gruenbaum Fax

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, has published enough books to earn his many titles — around 20 tomes, ranging from. . .

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

From Selichot to Simchat Torah

By Lauren Bottner

More than just a series of days on a calendar, or merely an occasion for the obligatory visit to synagogue, the High Holy Days offer a month-long. . .

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Israel closing West Bank for Yom Kippur

JTA

Israel will close the West Bank for the Yom Kippur holiday, its army said.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Training for Neilah: Doing the prep for Yom Kippur’s finale

by Edmon J. Rodman

Neilah is coming. Please rise.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

BCC cantor first to be trained in post-Holocaust Germany

by Jessica Pauline Ogilvie, Contributing Writer

Under a banner of balloons arranged as a rainbow flag, Juval Porat, 32, stands on the bimah at Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC) on a warm June evening. In. . .

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

This Is my God

by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

I cannot say that I have ever rejected God. There were some years in which I was not interested, and that, perhaps, is the greatest rejection of all. . .

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Ownership of Yom Kippur:  a personal journey

by Martin Ben Moreh

As a young Jewish boy in 1960s Glasgow, Scotland, I accompanied my father and my two elder brothers every Yom Kippur to the shul he had founded. We. . .