Rosh HaShanah Resources
Rosh Hashanah - The Other Seder
The Rosh Hashanah seder is a pre-meal ritual, a counterpart to the Passover seder we all know about. With synagogue observance of Rosh Hashanah this year likely to be interrupted in many ways due to the pandemic, it is particularly apt to shift more of the observance to our homes. The Rosh Hashanah seder can mix tradition, modern relevance, and lots of fun.
A High Holiday Message
The Talmud tells us that God created repentance (teshuvah) before creating the physical world. As Billy Joel once sang, “we’re only human, we’re supposed to make mistakes.” It’s how we respond to mistakes, how we grow, that matters. This video explores the twin themes of teshuvah and gratitude (hakarat hatov.) Our tradition offers us practices that cultivate self-reflection and humility, relationship and repair. We hope these words offer some comfort and guidance as you undergo your own process of teshuvah and, in meaningful relationships with others, make Godliness present in the world.
The Shofar and the Tears of Our Mothers
Kavvanah for shofar blowing on the High Holidays
Hagar the Stranger
To love the stranger represents an outrageous leap out of the typical moral economy, in which we do kindnesses and expect to be repaid in kind. In loving the stranger, we transcend self-interest.
Hagar: The Immigrant Worker
This provocative Rosh Hashanah sermon draws parallels between Hagar, Sarah’s mistreated servant, and today’s immigrant workers.
For The Sake Of The World
Rabbi Toba Spitzer grapples wtih the traditional notion of Jewish chosenness, arguing that our Torah is integral to the maintenance and perfection of this world—even as we acknowledge that other people’s teachings, other people’s truths, are also a path to redemption. It matters that Judaism survives—not just for our own sake, but because it’s good for the world, and because we have unique work to do.
Being Part of the Universe
In these excerpts from the diaries of Mordecai Kaplan, the message of Rosh Hashanah is reframed as one of radical responsibility to a higher calling.
Fall Holiday Glossary
This file contains a helpful glossary of terms for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. It begins with a letter to parents suggesting themes to think about during the holiday season.
High Holiday Liturgy
Rabbi Alan LaPayover (RRC ‘02), recorded the prayers of the Reconstructionist liturgy for the High Holiday services. The sound files are available for listening and download from links on this page.
Rabbi Fredi's Challah
Rabbi Fredi Cooper's challah recipe