When I was growing up in New York, Thanksgiving and Chanukah were occasions for bringing the family together. We lived in a small, five-and-a-half-room apartment, but somehow, we managed to squeeze in relatives and friends, folding tables, and enough food…
Tag: Jewish Holidays
Sukkot – Shelter in a Temporal World
We live in a world that constantly reminds us of its impermanence. Everything we build, everything we possess, and even the bodies in which we live are temporary. Yet much of human life is devoted to creating permanence and security.…
Yom Kippur Is Not Judgment Day
There is something about Yom Kippur that can make us uncomfortable. We come into this day knowing that we are going to have to face ourselves. We will confess our sins and recite the Al Chet, acknowledging the many ways…
Shabbat Shuvah – Can’t Buy a Thrill
When We Do It Again There is an old Steely Dan album called Can’t Buy a Thrill. One of the best-known songs on the album is “Do It Again.” It has that unmistakable Steely Dan sound, a relaxed, bluesy groove…
Rosh Hashanah – Back to the Future
JMortonPhoto.com & OtoGodfrey.com, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Back to the Future Rosh Hashanah gives us something that is increasingly difficult to find in modern life: a sacred pause. We spend much of the year moving forward at a…
Shavuos All Over Again
Déjà Vu at Sinai Yankee Hall of Famer Yogi Berra was renowned for his unique and often comical way of turning a phrase. One expression that became part of the American lexicon was, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”…
Shabbat HaChodesh – It’s About Time
Time is the most elusive yet dominant concept in the human experience. We struggle to understand it and we struggle to control it, yet our endless awareness and fear of time lurks behind all our endeavors. So, we invent devices…
Va’eira – Four Stages of Liberation
Listen to an audio version This Shabbat marks three weeks into the New Year in accord with the western secular calendar, the one by which a majority of Jewish people worldwide attempt to conduct their normal life’s business. Many have…
Light Over Might
Listen to an audio version Hanukah is perhaps the most cherished Jewish holidays, celebrated by both religious and secular Jews. While much of the Western world celebrates Christmas, Hanukah has become the Jewish alternative, replete with gift-giving, “heart-unfriendly” holiday foods,…
Fire and Water: Heaven on Earth
Sukkot is a season overflowing with meaning. It’s a time of joy, gratitude, and celebration — a time when we thank HaShem for His abundant provision. The harvest has come in, the storehouses are full, and the people rejoice in…