Rosh Hashana this year 5781 Rosh Hashana next Year 5782 © Judah Lifschitz 2020

Tonight we will usher in the Jewish New Year of 5781. Ours is not a “celebration” in the classic sense of joyful partying and merry making. Rather, Rosh Hashanah represents the beginning of a ten day period of personal and communal introspection and repentance. It is when the Almighty judges every individual and mankind as a whole. As we say in our liturgy, “On Rosh Hannah judgment will be recorded and on… Read More

Next week Jews around the globe will observe Rosh Hashanah and inaugurate  5781 on the Jewish calendar. This year, as in every year, Rosh Hashana, the Ten Days of Repentance which culminate with Yom Kippur will be a period of reflection, introspection, repentance, and prayer. We will pray for ourselves, our families, our communities, the Jewish People, and for all of mankind. We will beseech the Almighty for a year of health,… Read More

It was just a few weeks ago that we regularly awoke to news reports of Corona virus “hot spots” across the country. Such daily reports have greatly diminished in number and frequency. Perhaps it is because because the news media has lost interest or the United States is doing a better job of containing the spread of the virus. Whichever it may be, the opening of colleges and schools in many locales,… Read More