As the High Holy Days approach and I engage in the process of heshbonha’nefesh, soul accounting, among the sources I turn to are the teachings of the Hasidic masters, particularly those of the founders of this great spiritual revival movement. I was introduced to the sermons and stories of these masters as a child, and … More »
Entering the Holy of Holies: A Biblio-drama in Three Parts
Kohen Gadol: I carry the weight of the community on my shoulders; I feel both weighed down and uplifted. My work as Kohen Gadol is an enormous privilege and a fearsome responsibility. I tend to my duties with utmost care. Normally, I wear golden epaulettes on my shoulders inscribed with the names of the twelve … More »
When the Actor? When the Audience?
The appeal of Jewish worship for me has always resided in its innate theatricality — not that we witness a spectacle, but that we participate in one. When I walk into any worship setting — toting my own prayer book or picking one up at the door — I feel like an actor at a … More »
Recovering a Priestly View of Repentance
We all know what repentance is and what it demands of us. We must take full responsibility for our wrongdoing. We must turn toward those we have harmed in order to apologize, seek forgiveness, and repair the damage we have done. We must turn inward, engaging in a process of soul-reckoning, and then resolve to … More »
Learning to Parent
Many of us, fortunate to become parents, do our best to raise happy, independent, and emotionally and physically healthy children. This year, on the back page of each issue, we will be exploring the ethical obligations of parenting. We define parenting broadly: parenting children from birth through their adulthood, and what feels like “parenting” when … More »
The Name of God: Finding One’s Own Name
The description of the Avodah service, the “work” that the High Priest would engage in on Yom Kippur, is the centerpiece of the Musaf service. It is primarily a piyyut, a poem, written in the tenth century by Meshullam ben Kalonymos. The poem is fragmented by three confessions that the High Priest makes in the … More »
The Beginning of Service
I was initially intrigued when asked to reflect on what it means to be “called” to one’s work as a rabbi — and then I was surprised by the layers of internal resistance I faced as I sat down to respond to the question. First, I encountered the cultural baggage: The language of religious calling … More »
All That Matters
Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, contains some incredibly strange moments when viewed by year-round Jewish eyes. For instance, the Hineni prayer, which introduces the Musaf service, is recited by one person on behalf of the many, placing a religious intercessor between the many and their God. How strange. Though strains of … More »
An Extraordinary Light
I first encountered the Avodah service at age 7, and I kept the memory secret for years. I was visiting my Orthodox paternal grandmother in the women’s section of her shul. My Reform mother stayed outside with my sister. I looked down from the balcony and experienced the ineffable. To the accompaniment of a haunting … More »