Rosh Hashanah

I felt at a loss. How could I comfort this beautiful Jewess? She was broken. How could I make her feel whole again?

My neighbor announced that the following night would be Rosh Hashanah. Though I knew little of its significance, when he proposed that we all walk together to a synagogue, I agreed to join the group

True, we feel inspired now. But what happens in a few weeks when the inspiration falls away?

A mother’s relationship with her children impacts all of the future.

I think, “You really never know where a person is coming from.”

I could have hollered into the woods and nobody would have heard me. But I guess G‑d did, because a package arrived unexpectedly in the mail.

“I need a rabbi! Help me! I need a rabbi right now!!” The shocking, ear-splitting cry shattered the stillness in the synagogue.

It’s important to take my personal experience and perception of pain and put it aside as I try to step into the other woman’s shoes.

It is G‑d’s will that I be free, that I be loving, that I be holy, that I be joyful, that I be creative, that I be who I truly am

We have to remember that we are inherently pure and good, and each day is a new day and a new opportunity.

I had a moment a few months ago. You know, one of those wake-up calls, where you say to yourself: “If this is happening. I need to look and see what I’m doing. Am I really living? What direction am I heading towards in my life, and what are my priorities?”

Was I really returning home, or just to the memories of what once was?

When I first experienced the High Holidays, I found them nothing short of terrifying. It all moved so fast. What was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to recite?

Many things vie for my attention: my family needs me, work must be dealt with, and my own inner world, vast and detailed, wants to be recognized. I wonder if I can manage to balance all these aspects of myself when the upcoming holidays draw so much of my energy.

Once we’ve worked on ourselves and repented, G‑d no longer looks at what we did—because we are a new, changed person.

Once words are in print, they feel very permanent. Once you put it out there, it’s out there; you can’t take it back.

Leah was unhappy and frustrated at work. Her husband was also miserable with his job. Ever since they got married, they lived in the same apartment, had the same jobs. Everything was the same. They were stuck and unhappy.

He knows we are not angels, because He didn’t create us to be perfect. But He did create us with the ability to connect with others and become better people . . .

Suddenly Papa Yosef Chayim heard a sharp knock on the door. Curious who would be visiting at such an hour, he got up and opened the door. To his shock, he found a burly robber pointing a pistol directly in his face...

I know it’s a childish and irrational projection, but that’s how I sum up my heavenly Father – the One up there who has no malice towards me, but is certainly not dependable, who will lure me into a false sense of security, if I let Him, but then will pull the rug out and disappear in the middle of the night...

The sweetness that we hope for in the new year will, in part, come from how sweet we choose to see our lives, and how much we work to sweeten the lives of others...

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...

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and also the anniversary of the creation of man. In fact, the first time a shofar was heard in creation was when G‑d created Adam. G‑d blew Adam’s soul into him, and the sound it made was the sound of the shofar. Just like G‑d created mankind on Rosh Hashanah, on the anniversary of that day, G‑d is recreating us. We are G‑d’s shofar...

I am drama incarnate with fists balled, my silver hoop earrings, peasant skirt and leather cowboy boots. My stance is distant, almost defiant, like a dare, and I am crying. “As time goes by does it get more or less clear to you that we’re meant to be together?” The sentence rushes from my lips anxious and pleading…

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...

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...

Not one time do we mention our wrongdoings or ask for forgiveness on this awesome day. Why? Because on this Day of Judgment our words have a powerful effect, and our prayers have the strength to transform . . .

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...

The first week I actually fulfill my promises. I manage to control my temper, the floors of my home are so clean you could eat off of them, and I'm the perfect mother, daughter, wife, sister, boss, employee, you name it. The second week into my New Year's resolutions' promises is not so successful...

My love for the baby is so intense that I feel pained to be far away when she is crying. But how can I explain this emotional response to a three-year-old?

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

In the midst of all this school hustle and bustle came another beginning—Rosh Hashanah.