Sorry British fans! You won’t get to see Leonard Cohen dip apples in honey onstage. The Canadian performer has reportedly rescheduled shows in Leeds and London after he realized that the dates fell on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the BBC reported. A statement released on behalf of the 78-year-old and promoter AEG apologized “deeply…
Over the recent (and somewhat endless) round of high holidays this year, I came to some disconcerting realizations about my attitude to shul-going as a woman and a feminist. Coming from an orthodox background, I have realized that however much of a feminist I am, I still don’t feel comfortable in prayer settings of other…
The High Holidays don’t work for me. I know that Yom Kippur is supposed to be the holiest day of the year, and I’ve read and listened to many great ideas about how Yom Kippur is supposed to work on supreme spiritual issues and in sanctifying relationships and community. And I’ve been trying it out…
Every year just before Rosh Hashanah, my mother and I engage in a ritual attempt to approximate my grandmother’s gefilte fish recipe. The recipe itself is an approximation. She cobbled it together from other Holocaust survivors, and perhaps gleaned a few tips from women in a displaced persons’ camp, perhaps remembering bits from what her…
The Jewish New Year is a time for judgment and reflection
In a few days we’ll celebrate one of the emotional peaks in the Jewish calendar, the twice-yearly proclamation that ends the Yom Kippur fast and Passover feast: Next year in Jerusalem. We won’t mean it literally. For most it’s a metaphorical prayer for a better world, expressing faith that history has direction and meaning, with…
When your synagogue attendance can only be described as sporadic, a few panicked thoughts and pangs of regret enter your mind as you step into shul for Rosh Hashanah services. These include, but are not limited to: 1.) I should have volunteered to teach Torah for Tots because they get to eat apples and honey…
‘I’ve got the apples. Now all I need is you, honey.” Okay, so maybe no one’s using that line. But come the High Holidays there’s more than one reason tickets to synagogue cost so much. It’s the hottest singles scene in town. “When I was younger, my mom and I used to sit in the…
100% of profits support our journalism
