“Nothing shakes up the kishkas as much as the confessions of Yom Kippur. “So intrinsic are they to Yom Kippur that they are supposed to appear in every service — ten times in all, which is thought to correspond to the ten times the high priest invoked the Tetragrammaton in confessing for himself, his household, and the whole people on Yom Kippur.” So teaches us, Rabbi Reuven Kimmelman in a recent essay entitled, “Confession and Its Discontents” [“Sin and Confession in Judaism” Jewish Lights, 2012]. more

Please forgive my sharing with you a letter I wrote to myself. It was important to write it, following the lesson of the Chasam Sofer (see below), so that the message would come across and not go right out the other ear. Dear Me, In the seventh chapter of the Laws of Teshuvah (Repentance), Maimonides reminds us that even not-so-obvious “sins” require a repentance of some kind. more

Barely minutes after the news broke that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was planning a major effort on Capitol Hill to garner support for the Obama Administration’s plan for a limited military operation against the Syrian regime, the conspiracy theorists were having a field day. more

The question of possible American action in Syria is dividing the country, and reasonable people on all sides of the political spectrum can be found supporting or opposing any action. more

The horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred just seven days before the start of the new Jewish year of 5762 and only three days after the penitential season began for Ashkenazim with the first recitation of the penitential prayer service known as S’lichot. more

Years ago, my husband Jerry received a beautiful card right before Yom Kippur. I didn’t recognize the name on the return address. I handed it to Jerry who read the card and I noticed that his eyes were damp, although he had a huge smile on his face. When I asked who had sent it, he said it was a long story. I replied, “Aren’t all your stories long? I’d love to hear it.” more

If you would have collected a group of world-renowned military strategists, 40 years ago on Yom Kippur, Oct. 6, 1973, and asked them, at 4 p.m. Israel time, for a prognosis on the status of the events unfolding on the Golan Heights that afternoon, they would have probably told you Israel should be preparing the airport and shipping ports for a massive evacuation. And in all honesty, they would have been right. more

With the observance of Rosh Hashanah now upon us, this week’s essay will be devoted to several observations of this most beloved and respected holidays of our faith. Whereas in other faiths and cultures the welcoming of a new year is marked with revelry and unbridled joy, in Judaism the mood is solemn, and the observance is sober in diet as well as liturgical tone. more

On Central Avenue, in the kosher supermarkets, in shul, or on the LIRR, you hear the same conversation. “What?! Rosh Hashanah is next week!?” And then the dreaded “three day yom tov — oy!” I wonder why, every year, everyone is so surprised that’s it’s already yom tov time. Truth is, it has been three months since the start of June. Kids were packed off to camp, parents went on vacation and we partook in lots of family and friends BBQs, lounged in our backyards, and enjoyed the lazy days of summer (some of us more than others, but it’s ok, I’m not jealous … well, yes I am, but this isn’t about me). more

Sometime before we light the first candles of Rosh Hashanah, President Obama will send his holiday message to the Jewish community. The President usually misses a big part of what the High Holidays are about — understandable since he isn’t Jewish and he was a student of the law rather than of theology. This year, I decided to send the President a Rosh Hashanah message of my own, a message that explains to him why progressive politics is antithetical to the meaning of the Jewish Holidays. more