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Shabbat, The Sabbath

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Sep 24, 2026, 7:17 PM

Treasure Trove: Just in Time for the Holiday – The Secret of the Solar Succah

From the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, Toronto (www.herzlcollection.com). Photograph by David Matlow.

Succot, which starts at sundown on Friday September 25, is referred to as Z’man Simchateinu (The Time of Our Joy). This is because the Torah specifically commands us to rejoice on this holiday. In the spirit of the holiday,...

Andy Blumenthal

Sep 20, 2026, 4:48 AM

He Prayed Perfectly—And Missed Everything

This morning, on Shabbat Shuvah—the Shabbat of Return—our rabbi gave a beautiful sermon about teshuvah. He spoke about repentance not as punishment, but as coming home: the open door that stands before each of us in the days between...

Sep 19, 2026, 10:13 AM

Ha’azinu: When The Song Doesn’t End

I have written about the parsha many times. But I have never had to write one while sitting shiva. My father died on Sunday. And this Shabbat will be the first Shabbat of my entire life without him in this world. Then I...

Sep 17, 2026, 11:30 PM

Radiance and Return: Camp and the Essence of Teshuvah

I have never been the kind of parent who sits at a computer all summer constantly refreshing the camp media page, scanning hundreds of photos just to catch a glimpse of my children. But this summer, one image stopped...

Sep 17, 2026, 10:30 AM

The Sound of the Silent Shofar

Not infrequently, something simple and seemingly insignificant – a phrase, an image, a song – can trigger a memory so vivid that what in fact occurred decades ago appears as if it happened the other day. Which is precisely...

Sep 16, 2026, 11:04 PM

Remember Why We Are Here

Ha’azinu, my father’s memory and the story we are failing to pass on This Shabbat, Shabbat Shuva, I will make a kiddush in memory of my father. He died forty-one years ago, at only 50. Yet some of the things he...

Sep 15, 2026, 12:29 AM

Your Wrist Is about to Start an Argument with Your Rabbi

If it hasn't already. I don't have a "SmartWatch". I like my Omega, Seiko, Bulova collection. Over Rosh Hashanah, several people dinged, beeped, and had flashes on their watches. And I thought: we are nowhere near ready for what is coming. This...

Hande Gençünal

Sep 13, 2026, 9:27 PM

Hidden in Forty-Two Letters, on Ana BeKoach

Every time we usher in Shabbat, right after the six psalms, we say the same seven lines, Ana BeKoach. To say these words without knowing what they carry is to open a door with no lock on it at...

Jennifer Handel

Sep 13, 2026, 12:59 PM

Why Is This Rosh Hashanah Different From All Others?

I know. Wrong holiday. But as I sit here on the first full day of being 41, trying to make sense of the last 48 hours, it's the question that keeps coming back to me. Why is this Rosh Hashanah different...

Eliezer Simcha Weiss

Sep 11, 2026, 6:20 PM

The Silent Shofar and the Message of Ahavat Yisrael

The Silent Shofar and the Message of Ahavat Yisrael Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment. We stand before the Ribono Shel Olam and ask Him to judge us with mercy and give us a good and sweet year. At...

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