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Join Howard Sackstein and Dina Diamond as well as culinary wizards celebrating Jewish food across the globe in preparation for the New Year. Sarah Sassoon –...
More than ever, in almost 80 years, our past will define our perspectives on the future as we go into Rosh Hashanah of 2024 (Year 5785):...
I have been searching for the right words to capture my feelings after all we have been through since 7 October. And then it came to...
I’m going to struggle to pray these high holy days. I stood in shul a year ago, pleading with G-d for a year of blessings and...
Hey, does anybody still make new year’s resolutions? Maybe you do still make resolutions and yours goes something like mine? “My new year’s resolution this year...
In a year marked by such deep pain, loss, and internal division, the high holy days bring with them the annual opportunity for reflection and reconnecting....
Over the past few years, especially these past 12 months, fear has taken up too much space in our hearts. For many Jews, it’s fear of...
Rosh Hashanah is a day of profound duality, where emotions blend between awe and solemnity, pride and joy. We stand before G-d in judgement, fully aware...
In 1985, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks – not yet a sir or a lord, and not yet a chief rabbi – wrote an article about repentance (teshuvah)....
As we embark on a new year, it’s no exaggeration to say that we are living in historic times. The past 12 months have included a...
I’ve been counting the days. Have you? Since Shemini Atzeret, 7 October, together with millions of Jews around the world, I have been counting. Five days,...
Sometimes, I bring my children to tears. Not joyful ones, either. Recently, one of my children needed a minor surgery. Understandably, he was upset about going...
Rosh Hashanah marks a new chapter in the journey of our lives, not only on a personal level but on a macro level. As we reflect...
Honey is “big” over Rosh Hashanah. From being a symbol of a “sweet” new year, to actually being the viscous fluid that you dunk apples in...
Hayom harat olam. (Today the world was created.) Rosh Hashanah is considered the anniversary of creation. But the first of Tishrei isn’t the first day of...
My chevruta Miriam sent me a book she thought I would relate to called We Were the Newmans. This fictional novel by Beverley Lester tells the...
One of my favourite places to visit in Israel is Shiloh – the place where the Mishkan stood for more than 400 years. The holiness and...
One would think that considering all the praying we are about to do over Rosh Hashanah and then Shabbat, someone might remember to ask G-d for...
Music is powerful, and the high holy days are filled with majestic tunes to make the liturgy soar. There’s a line from the machzor that we...
At this time of year, the Jewish community around the globe is judged in the hope of being inscribed in the Book of Life, sealed on...
As the year begins to age We wish for a new page For the war continues to wage And loved ones are still in their cage...
One of the stories that touched me deeply from 7 October is that of Yehuda Becher, who sang the beautiful song of Elokai Neshama on his...
We the children of Israel are compared to the moon. The moon has no light of its own but gets it all from the sun. Imagine...
As we approach 7 October 2024, I think about the hostages. Every morning as I put on my tefillin, I can’t help but think of you....
Ever since 7 October 2023, chaggim have taken on a new meaning for the Jewish people. As we approach the start of the new year, we...
The monster bites, across oceans, the cries are heard. A mother sobs for her soldier, as her town strokes her hair and feeds her children. A...
A new year is an opportunity for a new start, an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, and begin writing on a new page. An...
How can I talk about what I believe Rosh Hashanah means to me this year without being insensitive? It means new beginnings, but this year, I’ve...
Rosh Hashanah. A time of the year filled with reflection, shofar blasts, and sweet apples in honey. This time last year, we were happily sitting in...
Since 7 October my view on life has changed completely. I have heard various stories about people who were taken hostage, were soldiers or survivors who...
Rosh Hashanah is a deeply significant holiday for us. It is time of reflection, renewal, and introspection. It is a time to examine our past deeds,...
In the crux of sadness, growth emerges, transforming the end of one year into a rebirth. The Nova festival site, where the lives of many individuals...
Rabbi Elimelech Biderman relates that someone once asked Rav Avigdor Miller how he should prepare for the judgement of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rabbi Miller...
Can you imagine our South African Jewish community having everything it needs? A community where all parents can afford school fees? Where everyone has access to...
Social media is great. It allows us to connect. To share. To access the world. It also allows us to exclude. To hurt. To mimic foreign...
The volume of Google searches for the word “diet” increases exponentially on – yes, you’ve guessed correctly – 1 January. During the first two weeks of...
I still remember Mr Seligman, my old English teacher back in high school in Brooklyn, standing at the head of the class, acting out the scene...
The morning was clear, the sun had just peeped over the horizon, and I found myself sitting on the sand, watching the waves as they gently...
Jewish tradition has a unique way of associating our chagim with smells, tastes, and sounds. Is there anything that tugs on our hearts in the same...
“On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.” When we think about those elusive heavenly books, we usually think of two...
