Rosh Hashanah
Dear readers,
Apples, honey, pomegranates, fish heads, brisket, raisin challah . . . the holiday shopping list is long and time is short. But as caught up as we are, please, we must not forget: There are thousands of Jewish families who have yet to hit the kosher aisles of the supermarket. Not because they do not want to, but because they cannot. They simply do not have the funds. And it is up to us to help them.
Think about the families in your community who may be scraping pennies together, and do your part to help them celebrate the New Year with plenty—and dignity. Or maybe you can give to a charity in your community that distributes holiday essentials. In addition, many Chabad centers all over the world will be packing holiday care packages. However you choose to help, know that you can make a big difference—for them and for you.
What better way to start the New Year could there possibly be?
Wishing you a year filled with sweetness and plenty,
Mendy Kaminker,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
P.S.: Here is a little video clip that expresses this same idea in a very interesting way. Enjoy!
Virtually everything you need to know about Rosh Hashanah: how-to guides, essays and insights, holiday stories, traditional recipes, multimedia, and much more!
The anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, a day of judgment and coronation, the sounding of the shofar . . .
A shofar is a trumpet made from the horn of a kosher animal. The central mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) is to hear the shofar blowning—as part of the prayer service.
Enhance your Rosh Hashanah meals with some gourmet dishes. Try black grape and plum compote, pomegranate coleslaw, honey challah and Rosh Hashanah roast.
A cantor who has spent the past seven years singing at different synagogues around the United States, Aryeh Leib Hurwitz typically begins his prep up to three months ahead, first with daily voice exercises.
Everything you sense, know and feel relates to the universe between your ears . . . What is true of the human being is also true of another of G‑d’s creations: time . . .
There is a custom to eat the head of a fish on the night of Rosh Hashanah. What does this actually mean? I can’t make head or tail of it . . .
A bat or bar mitzvah is not a “confirmation.” It involves no voluntary acceptance of Jewish identity. That choice took place more than three thousand years ago.
The gatekeepers proclaimed, “Dear G‑d, as we don’t merit being Your faithful gatekeepers, please accept Your keys.”
This short, forty-verse Parshah includes some of the most fundamental principles of the Jewish faith: the diverse unity of Israel, the practicality of Torah, the future redemption, freedom of choice . . .
After consulting with world-renowned infertility specialists, and after various medical procedures, we were informed that it would be impossible for us to bear children.
I cried for the fresh wound piercing my heart. I cried for a womb which helped develop a child, but which did not produce life. And I wondered about the purpose of it all.
It was obvious that G‑d was there in the room. Because she was talking to Him.
What could be a more appropriate way to bring in the new year than to work hard to celebrate it?
His heart froze: the paper had disappeared! He distinctly remembered placing it there that morning, but now it was gone.
“I thought to myself,” said the rebbe of Karlin, “if we address the Almighty as ‘King,’ does this not invite the question, ‘If I am indeed your king, why did you not come to me until now?’”
Who is responsible to pay for health care? Is health insurance a personal obligation or a community responsibility?
Law professor and rabbi Michael J. Broyde addresses the legal problem of determining the status of people who went missing in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and whose remains were never recovered.
How can we truly unite with another? Only by realizing that every person has a quality that is unique that only he or she can contribute.
Somehow, the very earth we touch must become acutely aware of its absolute nothingness while remaining a complete something. And you and I are given the responsibility to accomplish that.
I learned the meaning of love from a drunk. I once passed two drunks drinking in a gutter and overheard the following conversation between them:
Drunk #1: "I love you!"
Drunk #2: "No you don't."
Drunk #1: "Yes, yes, I do. I love you with all my heart."
Drunk #2: "No you don't. If you love me, why don't you know what hurts me?"
“Every day, the Torah must be new to you.” (Sifrei)
Torah is our life, and life is here and now, forever new.
Which means that for you to be truly alive, the Torah you learn today must touch the core of your soul.
And the same tomorrow. And the next day as well.
To live with Torah is to be forever newly born.
