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Film reel and a spilled container of popcorn against a red background

Two New Films, "An American Pickle" and "Palm Springs," Reflect High Holiday Themes

By

Wes Hopper

Both films show us ways to examine our flaws and make amends, either with the people we’ve wronged or for the ways we’ve scorned the sacrifices of those who came before us.

Honey dipper dripping honey over a small glass bowl of honey

How to Use the URJ Reflection Tool

By

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman

Rabbi Leora Kaye

We recently introduced the URJ Reflection Project, a tool for the High Holidays that can be found at reflect.reformjudaism.org. Here, we share suggestions of how to use its many ideas with your congregation.

Paintbrushes in a glass vase

Inspired 5781: More Art, More Awe

By

Rebecca Guber

I grew up going to services. A lot of services. I was adept at counting the ceiling tiles, reaching into the thousands as my grasp of numbers grew more sophisticated. The melodies became part of my life soundtrack; I hummed them as my mind wandered during the rabbi’s sermon.

View from behind of a person blowing a shofar into the sunset while wearing a prayer shawl that covers their head and back

Unetaneh Tokef in the Time of a Pandemic

By

Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler

The Unetaneh Tokef has a long list of ways that people die, often violently, a way of shocking us into realizing our mortality. The original prayer, however, can be traumatizing. This version seeks a more empathetic approach to mortality.

Womans feet and pointed yellow dress shoes standing in front of the word SORRY written on the pavement in chalk

How to Harness the Healing Power of Forgiveness and Repentance

So how does one begin the process of forgiveness?

A womans outstretched hands holding three red apples

How to Get into the High Holidays State of Mind

By

Rabbi Julie Zupan

It's a challenge and necessity, especially during this pandemic, to set boundaries between work time and family or personal time, between home office and home. How do we do that, emotionally?

Laptop on a table in a living room displaying a man in a kippah blowing a shofar

In Celebration of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur at Home

By

Micaela Hellman-Tincher

Like many, I'm mourning the chance to "go" to High Holiday services at my synagogue. But I've also had the joy of observing Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur at home, so I know this year will be wonderfully meaningful.

Man holding a laptop in bed while wearing a shirt and tie on top with plaid pajama pants on the bottom

3 Previously Frowned-Upon Behaviors to Embrace During the High Holidays at Home

By

Rabbi Paul Kipnes

The new normal of distanced coronavirus kehilla t'filah (communal prayer) offers new ways to enhance your Home High Holidays. Consider these three previously banned behaviors to warm up your worship.

Wine glass exploding against a black background

Shards of Glass: A Poem for the New Year

By

Michelle Shapiro Abraham, MAJE, RJE

Remind my tired soul, I beg You / My kitchen is far too clean and the china is still in the basement / Remind me how to stop the mourning / for tables that don’t need extensions / quiet synagogues with no children to be shushed...

pink clock with utensils

Your Guide to Fasting (or Not) on Yom Kippur

For many Jews, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a fasting holiday – a day during which we abstain from eating, drinking, and even brushing our teeth or using perfumes. (Learn more about what we abstain from and why.)