Yom Kippur
Achieving Greatness through the Mitzvoth of Yom Kippur
Posted by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld | Tags: Yom Kippur
A few months ago I drove to visit someone in a hospital. This hospital has a special parking spot reserved for clergy, so I confidently pulled into the clergy spot. As I exited the car, a security guard approached me and said, “I am sorry, this spot is only for clergy. Let me see your clergy i.d.”...
Yom Kippur: A Call To Greatness
Posted by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld | Tags: Yom Kippur
The theme of Yom Kippur is forgiveness. Almost all of our special Yom Kippur prayers are centered on the theme of confessing our sins and asking God for his forgiveness. A major part of the Mussaf service is the description of the Avodah—the service of the High Priest in the Temple on Yom Kippur....
To Know and To Believe
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Yom Kippur
Of all the things we have once learned, there are some that we have completely forgotten. We once new passable French or how to tie a sailor's knot, or this guy we went to elementary school with, but we no longer have access to those files in our brains. Then, there are those things that we sort of...
Kol Nidrei
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Yom Kippur
Like most people, I am a coward when it comes to one of the most difficult, albeit essential, elements of the Yom Kippur holiday. I teach my students every year that God will not even give a hearing in the Yom Kippur courtroom to sins between a person and another person until the offender has first...
Hanging in the Air by a Thread
Posted by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld | Tags: Yom Kippur
As some of you might know by now, I drive a car that used to be a taxi and now has a menorah on top of the car. Last year at this time I told you a story about how this car was stolen and used to rob a bank. Boruch Hashem we were able to replace that car with another used taxi, a 1994 Chevy...
The Story of Hannah: From Loneliness to Community
Posted by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld | Tags: Yom Kippur
Who do you think is the loneliest person you know? Who do you think is the loneliest person in Jewish history? In my opinion the answer to that question is Elisha Ben Avuya, also known as Acher (or Other). The Talmud (Tractate Chagigah 15a) tells us the following story. Elisha Ben Avuya...
Going "Off the Record" for the High Holy Days
Posted by Esther D. Kustanowitz | Tags: Yom Kippur
<i>This article originally appeared in the NY Jewish Week.</i> It usually happens at social gatherings. Someone says, "I've got an unbelievable story for you." I take out pen and paper and begin writing. Then, at the most interesting part, the person stops and says "you're not going to write...
My video divrei Torah on Yom Kippur by Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg
Posted by Jonathan Ginsburg | Tags: Yom Kippur
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdlJ__sxRp4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igwq9k7h4pM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB3I_svQ_18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M39cvU9ThME
Being Carbon Nuetral plus one regarding our sins
Posted by Jonathan Ginsburg | Tags: Yom Kippur
News story and Rambam Carbon Nuetral sins and mitzvot Oxford dictionary undergoes climate change on new words By Kate Schuman Associated Press September 23, 2007 Carbon footprint, green audit and Chelsea tractor are among the raft of environmental terms being added to the latest...
