Shira Koch Epstein
This year when so many of us find ourselves in need, the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, a day on which we traditionally forgo petitionary prayers like Avinu Malkeinu. I imagine that for many of my congregants, this is a relief. For the many who do not believe in an interventionist God, is there a place in our worship for prayers of petition? … More »
Facing Our Vulnerability
Leonard Gordon
To support us in our efforts to shock our congregations into a different appraisal of and response to vulnerability is the liturgy. During the High Holidays, in particular, the prayer Unitaneh Tokef — with its famous paragraph describing the many ways people might die during the coming year — can be interpreted as insisting on our vulnerability and mortality. … More »
Starting up with God
Aryeh Cohen essay
AVRAHAM’S FATHER’S IDOLS: A year-long conversation … More »
A Culture of Kashrut
MORRIS J. ALLEN A person blinded in one eye is exempt from making the pilgrimage. (Hagiga 2a) While this talmudic text is speaking only of the three-times-a-year obligation to appear in Jerusalem in ancient times — on Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot — the ancient rabbinic dictum holds great importance for modern Jews. Indeed, Abraham Joshua … More »
Discussion Guide - Vulnerability & Embodied Practice
What helps you pray?
Does “fasting” help focus your attention on Yom Kippur? How?
In what ways does a sense of vulnerability coalesce a community? … More »