Together again! This High Holidays, our choir was truly magical. By Janet Silver Ghent Sep 22, 2021 Before the 2020 High Holidays, I sang solo soprano into my iPhone, and I cried. I am a choral singer, not a soloist. Hearing every off-note and viewing every strange expression on my face left me distraught. Exasperated, I sent the best of several dozen attempts to my cantor and suggested that she destroy them.… Read More
First Person We're spending the High Holidays traveling the world — virtually This article originally appeared on Kveller. One of the distinctively Jewish benefits of the pandemic is that we can attend services virtually anywhere… By Avi Dresner, JTA Sep 14, 2021
Analysis Recall or not, Gavin Newsom needs to atone—and so do his critics It’s a coincidence that the election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom falls one day before the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday of atonement. But it may… By Rob Eshman, Forward Sep 14, 2021
First Person Give yourself some credit this year with this positive Yom Kippur prayer Every year during the High Holidays, Jews recite a litany of ways we have fallen short in a confessional prayer. Known as a viddui, the prayer is a… By Rabbi Jillian Cameron, Cantor Juval Porat, JTA Sep 13, 2021
Opinion Who by water? Who by fire? Climate crisis demands Jewish response “Who shall live and who shall die … who by water and who by fire … who by earthquake and who by plague …” Twenty years ago, people cried when they said… By Nigel Savage, Jakir Manela, JTA Sep 9, 2021
Rosh Hashanah Remember that viral sea lion shofar mashup? It’s still funny. I can’t believe it’s been a year since the Jewish news world went bonkers for St. Louis TikTok user Mallory Palmer, who created a viral video combining… By Jordan Palmer, St. Louis Jewish Light Sep 8, 2021
Religion 700-year-old Rosh Hashanah prayerbook on auction for $4 million If you find your synagogue’s prayerbook a little dull at Rosh Hashanah services next week, you may be able to buy a livelier — and much older —… By Ben Sales, JTA Sep 5, 2021
TV Spending the High Holidays with ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ In an episode of “Nine Perfect Strangers,” a participant at a wellness retreat is chasing after a goat on the resort premises. Hungry and in withdrawal… By Esther D. Kustanowitz Sep 3, 2021
Torah Look for the holy spark within and greet the new year with hope The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon. Nitzavim / Rosh Hashanah Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20… By Rabbi Shana Chandler Leon Sep 3, 2021