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Aug 10, 2026, 7:35 AM

Getting Ready for Rosh HaShanah

After hearing Rachel Goldberg Polin say that she rereads This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation, by Rabbi Alan Lew, annually before the High Holidays, I decided to try...

Aug 5, 2026, 9:43 PM

America’s Rebbitzman’s Jewish Greeting Cheat Sheet

Jewish greeting anxiety is real.

With the High Holy Days fast approaching, many of you are probably facing the same question as you walk through the doors of your Temple, Shul, Synagogue, Schtieble, or rented out Church basement. That question is “what the hell...

Allen S. Maller

Aug 5, 2026, 6:10 AM

Rabbinic Jews Reading About Prophets Ishmael And Isaac

Muslims know that Hagar and her son Prophet Ishmael are mentioned in the Biblical book of Genesis, (chapter 21); but very few know that every year Jews in synagogues worldwide read Genesis chapters 21 and 22 on the first...

Jul 29, 2026, 2:21 PM

Chana’s Two Prayers, One Story

The first words I hope to say as chazan on Rosh Hashanah are: הִנְנִי הֶעָנִי מִמַּעַשׂ Here I am, poor in deeds. Before beginning Musaf, I will acknowledge how inadequate I am for the task of representing the community before G-d. On...

Jul 16, 2026, 3:29 PM

My Journey Through Prayer: What I Finally Realised

As Rosh Hashanah approaches, many of us will spend more time in synagogue than at any other point in the year. Some will leave inspired. Others will spend much of the service wondering when it will end. Some will...

Oct 29, 2025, 9:55 AM

‘People hearing without listening’

The following article is based on a Drasha (Sermon) that I gave on the first day of Rosh Hashanah at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale – The Bayit, at the Explanatory Service. Please note that I have made some changes for clarity. Additionally,...

Oct 22, 2025, 8:35 PM

The Shofar — Our Clarion Call to Act

I have been thinking about why Rosh Hashanah this particular year felt so monumental. The celebratory dinners welcoming 5786 with wine, challah, honey and blessings and the shared time and conversation with family and friends, are now in the...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Oct 19, 2025, 5:55 AM

Sleepy Heads – tardeimah, sheinah, tenumah, linah, and durmita

In the story of the creation of Eve, the Bible relates that Hashem put Adam into a deep slumber, so he would not feel his Creator surgically removing one of his ribs to create Eve. The way the Bible...

Oct 13, 2025, 8:21 AM

Day 738 Of The War: Waiting For The Hostages Return Tomorrow

My photo of the demonstration in front of Yoav Galant's home.

When I flew on the first day of Rosh Hashanah to visit my family in the U.S., I was hoping—as I do every time I leave the country—that by the time I returned, the hostages would be home and...

Shamai Leibowitz

Oct 11, 2025, 11:12 PM

Ceasefire Is Not Enough: We Must Choose Life and Freedom

As we wait anxiously to see whether the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas will take hold and become permanent—ending the massacres in Gaza and bringing the hostages home—we find ourselves in the midst of Sukkot, the festival of...

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