Responsibility – #BlogElul 28

Taking responsibility has got to be one of the hardest lessons we ever learn. It's what the Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony is really about - taking on adult responsibilities, even if in our modern society they are "only" ritual ones, and we don't really expect a 13 year-old to be responsible for their own … Continue reading Responsibility – #BlogElul 28

Giving – #BlogElul 24

Yesterday the phone rang and it was a rather prominent member of our community, wanting to talk to my husband. Since she isn't someone we socialise with, and it was the second Sunday in September, I guessed that she was calling to canvass us for the Combined Jewish Appeal, our local Federation's major fundraising push.We … Continue reading Giving – #BlogElul 24

Seeing – #BlogElul 22

This morning at minyan I had the privilege of leading Shacharit, as I usually do on Sundays. I was thinking about the commandment to wear the tzitzit, the ritual fringes that give the tallit its meaning - otherwise it is just a four-cornered shawl. We remind ourselves of this commandment every morning in the third … Continue reading Seeing – #BlogElul 22

Hearing – #BlogElul 21

The High Holiday services are very auditory - the cantor leads the congregation in many traditional tunes, often there is a choir to enhance the experience. The rabbi gives a longer and more intense sermon than usual. The shofar sounds 100 times over the two days of Rosh HaShanah, and with full force at the … Continue reading Hearing – #BlogElul 21

Endings – #BlogElul 20

How clever of Rabbi Sommer to put Endings at the end of the work week, as we prepare for Shabbat. Cooking special foods, looking forward to resting and seeing friends at shul, putting this first week of school behind us. I've been writing and posting these blogs the evening before, when it is the Jewish … Continue reading Endings – #BlogElul 20