Archive | Elul Reflections

U’netaneh Tokef is considered one of the most challenging prayers of the High Holidays.  Many have a hard time with its simple reading, that our lives are not really determined by the choices that we make, but our fate is “written on Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.”  Yet, the core of […]

Rabbi Brad Levenberg As I reflect upon my most recent visit to Israel, I was struck by the fact that we visited the coastal town of Akko in the same day that we made our way to Yad VaShem, Israel¹s official memorial to the Holocaust. The crashing sounds of relentless waves dancing in the shadows […]

Why My Mother Cried April Akiva, R.J.E. Each year, while preparing for the High Holy Days, my mother would blast Avinu Malkeinu over the stereo and sob.  I can clearly remember her sitting on the edge of the stairs crying her eyes out, as if someone had just passed away.  She would set the table […]

Rabbi Nico Socolovsky ..The chief of the police asked: “How am I to understand that God, who is omniscient, asks Adam, ‘Where are you?’” The rabbi replied: “Do you believe that scripture is eternal and encompasses every age, every generation, and every person?” —- “Well now,” said the Zaddik, “in every age God addresses every […]

Rabbi Stephen J. Einstein Sometimes when I want to explain the concept of midrash, I will simply say, “Father, I cannot, tell a lie.” Every American child has grown up hearing this famous story from the boyhood of the Father of our Country, our first President, George Washington.  Along the way, some teacher probably informed […]

Rabbi Sarah DePaolo Maimonides taught that in order for a person to successfully complete the process of t’shuvah, she must confront the same situation in which she erred, or find himself in a situation when he has the potential to transgress again, and, “abstains and does not commit it because of T’shuvah alone” (Mishneh Torah, […]

Cantorial Soloist Jenna Sagan Elul is the time in our year for accountability and return. It is a time for deep examination and teshuvah; a chance to dig into your soul, and explore the opportunities you have to return to your truest self. As a clergy member, I am often asked how I connect to […]

Rabbi Eric Linder Lao Tzu wrote, Every journey begins with a single step. Think about just one thing that you can do. One act of t’shuvah, one mitzvah. This is doable and achievable. Now, go and do it! Then, do another, and another … Judaism teaches us that Mitzvah goreret Mitzvah, one mitzvah leads to […]

Rabbi K’vod Wieder There is a midrash that the month of Elul that precedes the High Holy Days is the time that Moses went up the mountain after the sin of the Golden Calf to pray for forgiveness for the people, and get the next set of tablets. The original profound moment at Mount Sinai […]

Rabbi Stephen J. Einstein I love artichoke hearts.  If I am looking over a restaurant menu and I see a salad that includes artichoke hearts, it will likely be my choice.  At home, we often include artichoke hearts in our salads, as ingredients in pasta dishes, etc.  You get the idea. I have been asked […]