Rosh Hashanah is a time of repentance, reflection and returning, or Teshuva in Hebrew. Returning to our roots, returning to our values and returning to the Earth that sustains us. In the Torah, G-d grants humanity dominion over the Earth and all that dwells within it. However, as it is said, with great power comes…
Before I moved to Israel I was always puzzled by the ending to the Book of Jonah, read on Yom Kippur as part of the mincha service. As you might recall, Jonah is upset at God for pardoning the city of Nineveh, and he says: “Please, Lord, take my life, for I would rather die than…
For the secular New Year, people make resolutions to improve themselves for the coming year. But the Jewish New Year is preceded by a month of preparation to enter the New Year as a better person with past sins forgiven. During the month of Elul, it is customary to ask those you have wronged for…
