They’re Home and We are Starting the Torah Anew
We are preparing to conclude our high holiday season with Simchat Torah – the celebration of completing the Torah reading cycle. One of the curious
Rabbi Ashira Konigsburg
We are preparing to conclude our high holiday season with Simchat Torah – the celebration of completing the Torah reading cycle. One of the curious
Balancing mourning and joy, celebration and grief, can be difficult and we wonder where is God during the Season of our Gladness—holidays?
As we enter into the time of Sukkot, we can take the time to learn and teach about the joy that celebrating the holiday can bring us.
In a reflection before Sukkot and the anniversary of October 7, this author views Sukkot as temporary shelters for peace and what we need now.
As we reach Sukkot and the anniversary of October 7, Jacob Blumenthal provides a message about balancing pain and celebration.
When hakafot are impossible on Simchat Torah, especially during war, there is an alternative, a way to dance on someone else’s behalf.
This Passover, and beyond, may we have the blessing of adding a few more verses of Dayenu for the miracles in our lives, and our era, too.
Dayenu reminds us to appreciate the steps toward redemption, and we must continue taking small but meaningful steps too.
We can never make up the losses suffered in this conflict, we can only continue in the path of justice and equity that the Torah begs of us.
ובאמת, לצד האסונות שידענו לאורך אלפי שנות קיומנו, ידענו גם לקום, להתאחד ולהתחזק מתוך השבר. וכך יהיה גם הפעם.
Despite the disasters we have faced, we have known how to rise, unite, and grow stronger from the fractures.
While Jewish law contains many opinions, the moral imperative is clear: every effort should be made to negotiate the release of hostages without delay.
Heschel writes in 1973 in “Reflections on Death”: Life here and now is the task. Every moment can be an achievement.
Written by S.Y. Agnon in the Conservative Judaism Journal for those who died in the War of 1948, these words are especially fitting today.
May God remember all the women, men, and children of Israel who were brutally murdered on the 7th of October.
This Yizkor, for the victims of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, attempts to capture the personal details of the people killed on this day.
חווינו אחד מן האסונות הגדולים ביותר בתולדות המדינה, ומאז, כיצד ראוי לחגוג את שמחת תורה בשנת תשפ״ה?
With the ongoing tragedy of October 7th and the ongoing hostage situation and war, how do we appropriately celebrate Simchat Torah in 5785?
דקות לפני כניסת החג, מתכנסים בבית הכנסת, לוקחים כלי חרס שביר ביד ואומרים האלה.
A ritual and intention before the start of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah this year in 2024/5785 based on a Talmudic story.
This year, we should learn to experience the embrace of Sukkot by embracing one another, knowing that God is reaching out to embrace us, too.
This year, as we feel as fragile as the Sukkah itself, we offer a framework for Sukkot and Ushpizin – our Exalted Sanctified Guests.
Tradition reminds me that even if I don’t feel hope now, it’s still here. Maybe it isn’t present right now, maybe we will find it.
המסורת מזכירה לי שאפילו שאני לא מרגישה את התקווה עכשיו – היא איפשהו כאן. ואולי היא נוכחת כרגע, אולי נמצא אותה.
Our hearts are big enough to hold all the emotions we feel during this holiday season, as we pray, eat, and observe the holidays together.
Memory-making, the way we tell ourselves our story, the way we frame our history, offers the opportunity to give us power and, ultimately, hope.
While I express my love for Jewish tradition, I am also holding the Jewish people in my hands and giving them a kiss as well.
Yom HaZikaron is different this year. Our troops are still falling and getting wounded. The sense of loss and mourning is not theoretical.
Rabbi Rackover reflects on Yom HaZikkaron and Yom HaAtzmaut: For the first time, my daughter was afraid to share her Jewish identity. My heart broke.
This year, as we prepare the seder, we encourage an extra setting at your table—an empty chair for our family still in captivity in Gaza.
Seven psalms as a liturgical response to our individual and collective emotions, including grief, fear, rage, desperation, and others.
Amidst the heartbreak over the war in Gaza, appreciating our lives and feeling joy is an act of resistance and affirmation of life.
Rabbis Nicole Guzik and Erez Sherman offer a prayer for Israel. This was first offered at a vigil on October 8th, 2023.
A prayer for kidnapped Israelis by Hamas and are being held in Gaza.
Prayer for Simchat Torah War by The Rabbinical Assembly of Israel and Masorti Israel.
Prayer for the Welfare and Return of Israel’s Captured and Missing by the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel and Masorti Israel
Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal offers some wisdom on how to talk to children of all ages about what is happening in Israel in an appropriate way.
The bombing at Hebrew University was a transition moment in my life. I got by for about a month and then started to break down. I had extreme anxiety.
October 9th, 2023 In the two years since we launched, Exploring Judaism has significantly impacted the Conservative/Masorti presence on the internet. We have worked to