Bringing the Holidays to the People From Rosh Hashana through Sukkot, as Jews of all backgrounds seek meaning and opportunities to connect, the Jewish cultural coordinators of OTS’s Yachad Program for Jewish Identity run a range of inviting events which attract tens of thousands of people of all ages. “A secular couple came to hear …
As synagogues and congregations grapple with how to conduct the upcoming High Holiday services during the coronavirus pandemic, KAN English news reporter Naomi Segal spoke to OTS President and Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, about the specially- condensed, machzorim (prayer books) OTS has created for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, to respond to the …
A Gate of Intentions for the High Holy Days Rabbi Sarel Rosenblatt is the Rosh Kollel of the Straus Kollel at the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary We are now in the midst of the days of teshuva and tikkun; days of atonement, forgiveness and mercy; days of judgement and love; days of festivity …
One of the many challenges that the Jewish community faces as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic involves balancing the Biblical mandate of “v’nishmartem me’od l’nafshoteichem” – safeguarding our health – with fulfilling the halakhic requirements relating to the tefilot of Yom Kippur. To address this issue, Ohr Torah Stone has created a halakhically condensed …
Vows and Yom Kippur Avi Ganz is the director of the Elaine and Norm Brodsky Darkaynu Program for Men On the Eve of Yom Kippur or, what we often call “Kol Nidrei Night,” men, women, and children across denominational, cultural, and generational spectra join together in shuls to usher in the holiest day of the year: Yom …
As we embark on the spiritual journey toward Yom Kippur, our staff and global emissaries share a daily dose of Torah along with a glimpse into their own personal journeys… Click to read today’s! Click here to download our specially-condensed, halakhic machzorim (prayer books) for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, which responds to the health …
Why Did God Create Us? Rabbanit Sally Mayer is the Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum‘s Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program Why did God create us? From time to time, this question arises, especially around the the Yamim Nora’im (The High Holy Days), as we remember the creation of the world and take stock of …
Remembrance and the Journey from Judgment to Mercy Rabbi Ohad Teharlev is the director of Israeli Programs at Midreshet Lindenbaum There are two Memorial Days in the Jewish-Israeli calendar: Rosh Hashanah, and Remembrance Day for fallen IDF soldiers and victims of terror. These are both significant days that generate a change in the world. The …
The power of response in the tshuva process The day on which the ten-day process of repentance culminates, Yom Kippur, is not a day of mourning. By Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, September 2, 2021 The well-known thinker, neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Dr. Viktor Frankl once wrote, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. …
FEATURED POST Rosh Hashanah: Closing a circuit of life and love The day’s events threw a Lubavitcher Hasid, a Bedouin soldier, and me together so we could each do some good, and I was sure our encounters weren’t by chance By Rabbi Dr. Yakov Nagen | September 3, 2021 My wife and I set a …
The Importance of Melody in the Journey of Teshuva during the High Holidays Pnina Omer is the director of OTS’s Yad La’isha: The Monica Dennis Goldberg Legal Aid Center & Hotline The journey of teshuva – repenting and finding forgiveness – during the High Holy Days stands upon three pillars: time, words, and melodies. The …
Shmita and Rosh Hashana: A Time of Renewal Rabbanit Dr. Hannah Hashkes is the Director of OTS’s International Halakha Scholars Program It is not always easy to get into a festive mind frame in the hustle and bustle of modern life. Our places of work and study follow the Gregorian calendar rather than the Jewish …
