Rosh Hashanah

Bands sing of freedom from Apartheid from South Africa's darkened face. The music lifts me off the grass and bounces me like musical notes down the hill. I dance and dance. But my heart slides with the knowledge that this is not my music...

I was in the midst of tears when I asked myself, "Elana, do you want to infuse your home with a lovely essence by being the akeret habayit, or are you going to fall into the trap of being angry and be the okrut bayit, an uprooter?"

"What's up with the brisket, Grandma?" my preteen son asked, echoing my suspicions that bubbe's famous brisket—the eternal pillar of my family's High Holiday feasts—had undergone an unprecedented facelift...

Make sure to begin the New Year right with foods that carry symbolic meaning, Jewish tradition and are, of course, absolutely delicious!

I had come from a difficult beginning and shown up in Israel wanting to learn about my spiritual tradition, but with a strong fear and distrust of authority and establishment. After trying one school for about two months, the plea inside turned into a scream so loud that I ran away...

We read the story of Chana and Penina on Rosh Hashanah, when we pray for a good, sweet year. We pray for abundant blessings. Yet I believe there is a lesson in their story, cautioning us that with blessings come responsibility...

After investing hours and hours on food preparation you will most certainly want to place your delicacies on an elegant table. Convinced? Here's how you can make this year's table look like a bountiful feast befitting royalty...