with Rabbi Bridget Wynne
How Do I Prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?
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| Return, Reflect, Remember |
The Jewish High Holidays – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – take place this year on Tuesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 9, respectively. Like all Jewish holidays, they officially begin at sunset on the evening before. If you have a question for our experts about the holidays, or any issues about family life and relationships between people of different faith, please email us at bridges@sfjcf.org.
The first general principle I have in terms of doing Jewish things is to make it a matter of what you can do. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. This principle applies as well to preparing for and celebrating Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
When I think about these holidays, three “R’s” come to mind: return, reflect and remember. For me, return means returning to our core values and principles – those that we want to live our lives by. Once we’ve considered these values, it’s time to reflect on how to put them into action within the reality of our busy lives. And we remember those we’ve lost and think about how we can honor what was important to them... [continued]
Teshuvah...Transitioning to the Fall Holy Days
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| Shofar, tallit and prayer book |
Picture repentance… Do you see a rabbi and cantor, dressed in pure white robes, leading a congregation of orderly Jews in traditional chants and prayers?
Maybe not. For many Jews, repentance is more closely associated with Christianity than Judaism. But in fact, repentance – or teshuvah – is an important aspect of Judaism and the central core of the High Holidays or Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Teshuvah, which literally means “turning in,” is the act of reconciliation and turning back to God. Mistakes will happen, we are told. Fixing them, and not repeating them again, is the challenge of teshuvah... [continued] |
