Tag Archives: Yom Kippur

We are at the height of Sukkot at the moment and I would love to write about the special prayers and celebrations that are taking place in Jerusalem and around the Jewish world, but with coronavirus still ravaging our population, we are in lockdown, synagogues are closed and prayer are …

HOW TO TREAT A CONVERT. Q.  How should we treat a convert – to Judaism, and away from Judaism? A.  The convert to Judaism must be treated with respect and love.  This rule is supported by the verse, “You shall love the stranger (‘ger’), for you were strangers in the …

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, we ushered in the Jewish New Year, 5779, with prayer, meditation and the sounding of the shofar. It is a serious time, the beginning of the ten Days of Awe that culminate with Yom Kippur. But it is also a joyous time. We …

THE TREASURE. Every culture has its story of the person who went searching for treasure and finally found it in his own garden. In Judaism its great expression is Yom Kippur. Jews who go wandering throughout the year come home to Judaism on Yom Kippur and suddenly find that the …

THE TRUE HERO OF ROSH HASHANAH. Heroes and villains abound in the festival stories. Pesach pits Pharaoh and Moses against each other. On Purim it is Haman and Mordechai. On Chanukah it is Antiochus and Judah Maccabee. What about Rosh Hashanah? Since the festival is not based on narratives there …

WHERE’S THE MAGIC? The great failure of Yom Kippur is that it often doesn’t engage people with religion. Yes, the personnel of the synagogue do their best to convey the message that moves their lives. The words, the tunes, the ambiance all try to exert a magic. The seats are …

We stand on Holy Ground between the day that was and the one that must be – There are about six million Jews in America.  Almost the same number who were murdered by the Nazis with the collusion (ignorantia affectata) of Christian Europe and America – a country that was …

THE WORDS OF OUR MOUTH & THE MEDITATION OF OUR HEARTS. Nothing rivals the awe and splendour of Kol Nidrei night. Nothing rivals the Kol Nidrei melody. But nothing explains the apparent banality of the Kol Nidrei words. The explanation needs us to acknowledge how often the prayer book appeals …

Nothing less will do… Five days since the end of Rosh Hashana – which had been for me a time of spiritual high, offering a sense of my place in the world. How badly I had wanted to hold on to that high. I knew, of course, that there was …