All year long, we wait for the Day of Atonement to seek forgiveness for acting on our sinful inclinations. This year, we will be better. This year, we will shed our skin of all the times we laughed too hard at Sacha Baron Cohen’s jokes. We will finally vote in midterm elections. We might even…
I was wondering if I was reading too much into the near-convergence of Sen. John McCain’s funeral; Labor Day, the traditional kickoff of the campaign season; and Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish holidays of repentance and renewal. But when I saw that Steve Bannon called the National Cathedral service “the High Holy Days”…
Almost ten years ago, I was living in Cambodia in the tourist city of Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat temple complex, teaching fifth grade to local gifted Cambodian students. It was an incredible experience — except spiritually. I felt completely isolated from anything resembling a Jewish community. This was right at the cusp…
As a rabbi, I’m often tasked with helping others find meaning in suffering and hope in times of despair. Drawing from the wellspring of biblical and rabbinic wisdom, I frequently find support for a wide range of broken hearts, and I typically have a comforting text to point to. Existential loneliness? Turn to Psalms 23:4:“Though…
The bell of Elul tolls for all of us, and rap gods are no exception. Just days before Rosh Hashanah, rap mogul Kanye West has reached out to musical peer Drake to bury the hatchet over conspiracy theories that, among other things, Drake had an affair with Kanye’s spouse Kim Kardashian. Kim herself came forward…
It’s late August. Summer storms arrive as if from nowhere, soaking the sun-warmed pavement. Parents are transitioning from the childcare scramble to the school drop-off scramble. Sand particles cling to the bottoms of canvas bags as you shop supermarkets stocked with snack-packs and pumpkin products. The High Holidays are on their way. Do you know…
With the high holidays soon approaching, high fashion has been on our minds and in our shopping carts. It’s time to repent from last year’s poor synagogue clothing choices and burn our sinful dresses that surely our mother-in-laws and forever fashion police maven in heaven, Joan Rivers, would say is dreadful. Luckily, the runway heavens…
How do we know when Jews have made it in America? When neo-Nazis show up at Jerry Seinfeld shows eating tzimmes? When public schools have half-a-day for Shmini Atzeret? Or maybe, just maybe, when hip-hop karaoke videos featuring shofars go viral. Oh happy, happy Wednesday! Unintentionally kicking off Elul with a blast of early High…
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