Yom Kippur is the ultimate to do list. It is the moment when we leave behind our everyday lives and get deep in our relationship with the Divine. Before we can just be, we have a few final things to do.  Give to charity. Start tapering off that caffeine. Make amends. Select an outfit of white clothing. Reflect and pray. Eat a big meal, but not too big. Return to your altar and light a memorial candle for your ancestors.  Use...

Kol Nidre means “all vows,” and this hauntingly beautiful prayer is also a legal ritual, releasing us from all our broken promises from the past year. Once we declare these collective failures nullified, we are able to move into the rest of Yom Kippur together.  All vows and prohibitions and oaths … that we may vow or swear or prohibit upon ourselves from this Yom Kippur until the Yom Kippur that is coming upon us for goodness— regarding all of them,...

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we read the traditional confessional prayer, the Vidui, which has two parts: Ashamnu and Al Chet. Both are written in the first person plural. No matter who surrounds us, we share the responsibility for what we have done wrong and the obligation to do better in the future. Recently, positive versions of the Ashamnu have emerged, helping us appreciate where we have done well in the past year.  These modern interpretations can help you to...

And G!d says: "And you shall make sure that every time you list the litany of your ugly, and your rotten and your wicked, you end the litany with a prescription for how to move on from it - through reflection, reparation and repair - so that you do not get stuck in the ugly, which is mighty and sticky and will close your ears to the shofar and keep you asleep and in despair.”   And G!D says: "Rosh Hashanah has...

Yom Kippur includes a dedicated moment, called Yizkor, to collectively remember lives lost. We ask that our loved ones find mercy and peace in their eternal rest, and by doing this we keep their memories alive even as they no longer take breath.  Traditionally, a memorial yahrzeit candle lasts for the full 24 hours of Yom Kippur, but you can use any long-burning candle. Stare into the flame and hold for a moment the memories of those who no longer walk...

 יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא.  בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ  בְּחַיֵּיכוֹן וּבְיוֹמֵיכוֹן וּבְחַיֵּי דְכָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן  יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא  יִתְבָּרֵךְ, וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח,וְיִתְפָּאֵר, וְיִתְרוֹמֵם, וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא, וְיִתְהַדָּר, וְיִתְעַלֶּה, וְיִתְהַלָּל, שְׁמֵהּ דְקֻדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. לְעֵלָּא מִן כָּל בִּרְכָתָא וְשִׁירָתָא,תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא וְנֶחֱמָתָא, דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְמָא, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן יְהֵא שְׁלָמָה רבָּא מִן שְׁמַיָּא וְחַיִּים עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְֹרָאֵל,וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן עשֶֹׁה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶֹה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְֹרָאֵל וְעַל כָּל יוֺשְׁבֵי תֵבֶל, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן Mourners: Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mei raba...

We Remember Them by Sylvan Kamens & Rabbi Jack Riemer At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them. At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter; We remember them. At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring; We remember them. At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer; We remember them. At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn; We...

Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul. Return to who you are. Return to what you are. Return to where you are born and reborn.

What is Neilah - Closing the Gates The sun is setting on this holy day, but our tradition still has an 11 o’clock number up its sleeve. Neilah refers to the closing of the gates and symbolizes the waning hours of our atonement. For weeks we’ve been digging into our souls, for days we’ve been apologizing, and for the last 24 hours we’ve been depriving ourselves of comfort while confessing our collective sins. Neilah is the final mile of the marathon....

Ritual to End Yom Kippur  After 24 hours of asking, Yom Kippur ends with a declaration and a shout. We make a proclamation, then consider it done. Write three intentions you have for the year ahead, then read them out loud. You can recite them multiple times. The traditional formula is 1, 3 and 7.  Intention #1 1x Intention #2 3x Intention #3 7x  Then the shofar is sounded one final, long, loud blast. If you cannot hear a shofar, shout...

High Holidays in Five Senses  What do the High Holidays smell like?  They smell of freshly-baked sweet challah, the vanilla-y pages of an old book, your grandfather’s aftershave, the tang of the etrog and the perfume of lulav branches. What do the High Holidays feel like?   They feel like fists beating on chests, shifting your tush on a wooden pew in an unairconditioned sanctuary, running your fingers through the fringes of a tallit, dropping crumbs into the water as you cast...

For centuries, Sephardi Jewish families have gathered to celebrate a special Rosh Hashanah ceremony with a plate or meal of symbolic foods. Each food is eaten after requesting a specific kind of Divine blessing that sounds like the name of that food in Hebrew.  Before eating dates ( tamar ): May it be your will, God, that hatred will end. ( Tamar resembles the word for end, yitamu. ) Before eating pomegranate: May we be as full of mitzvot as the...