High Holidays
The Hebrew name given to the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is Yamim Nora’im, the Days of Awe. At the heart of our preparations for the Days of Awe is the concept of change and transformation. Jewish tradition understands that human beings are not perfect. We make mistakes that affect others as well as ourselves, but these errors of judgment, omission and commission need not remain with us forever. On Rosh Hashana, we celebrate life and the possibility of new beginnings. We affirm the freedom and responsibility we have to conduct our lives with decency and morality. On Yom Kippur, we focus on the mistakes we make when we fail to exercise our freedom with responsibility. We seek atonement and forgiveness for our mistakes, and we experience the fragility of life. We realize that we want to make a meaningful difference by the way we live our lives while we still can.1
- 1. Adapted from A Guide to Jewish Practice, Volume 2—Shabbat and Holidays. The Guide may be ordered from the Reconstructionist Press.
Yom Kippur Resources
High Holiday Resources
God in Metaphor: A Guide for the Perplexed
Rabbi Toba Spitzer explores the obstacles to prayer posed by stale language about God, and suggests new language that may ease our way in finding connection.
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.
Rosh Hashanah Message: In Order to Move Forward, We Must Look Back
In this Rosh Hashanah video message, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, president of Reconstructing Judaism, explores the ways in which remembering the past is crucial to moving forward into a sweet New Year.
High Holiday Message from Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D.
At Rosh Hashanah, as we turn to new beginnings, we seek to repent—to do teshuvah—for what we have done wrong. And we can also affirmatively foster ourselves toward resilience—toward a thriving, loving outlook in spite of whatever challenges we encounter in life. In this video, I explore themes of resilience embedded into Jewish practice.
Human, Why Do You Sleep?
Examination of Rabbi Kelilah Miller’s papercut, “Human, Why Do You Sleep?”
What Are You Asking For? A Meditation on Psalm 27
A guided meditation on Psalm 27
Yom Kippur at Lincoln Memorial
Kavvanah written for Yom Kippur services at the Lincoln Memorial, 2015.
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.
Addressing Race as a Jewish Community
As a time to take responsibility for communal wrongs, Yom Kippur calls us to learn about and grapple with issues of race in America.
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.
What is Sin? A Text Study
Study sheet on the different interpretations of “sin” throughout Jewish history.
Nitzavim and Teshuvah
Study sheet on the relationship between Parashat Nitzavim and themes of teshuvah.