By DEBORAH FINEBLUM (JNS) – Thanksgiving. They got it from us. The evidence: Things they don’t teach you in school, like the Pilgrims modeling their autumn thanksgiving holiday after the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot, celebrated just a few weeks earlier. This is actually not surprising considering that the Pilgrims—goofy hats and all—modeled their society after the ancient Hebrews. To […]

ALBANY– Fifty people recently joined together for meals during the Hebrew Academy of the Capital District’s (HACD) annual “Share Your Sukkah” meal program. The program, now in its third year, matches up school families to enjoy a meal together in a host family’s sukkah. This year, eight different meals were held during the holiday. The “Share Your Sukkah” event reflects […]

SCHENECTADY– Congregation Gates of Heaven (CGOH) recently held its 22nd annual mitzvah day. Two hundred members of the congregation volunteered at agencies throughout the area and helped out at the temple.  The day began with a blessing from Rabbi Matt Cutler, followed by a lunch at the temple. After lunch, the volunteer teams headed off to their assigned agencies. Congregants […]

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel initiative” Based on ancient Jewish sages, October 10, 2019, https://bit.ly/2OBJ3Nw More on Sukkot and other Jewish holidays: http://bit.ly/137Er6J 1. US-Israel special ties are highlighted by Columbus Day (October 14, 2019), which is always celebrated around Sukkot (October 13-20, 2019). According to “Columbus Then and Now” (Miles Davidson, 1997, p. 268), Columbus […]

BY SHANNON SARNA (The Nosher via JTA)  – Yom Kippur is one of the most important days on the Jewish calendar. For many Jews, fasting and being in synagogue is the focus of the day. Fasting is not easy, nor is it for everyone — some people cannot fast because they are pregnant, breastfeeding or have a medical condition. Or […]

By SHIRA ZEMEL (Kveller via JTA) – Like so many of you, I’m a working person trying to juggle it all — my kid, my job and, you know, my life. For the High Holidays, I was inspired to write a working parents’ version of the Ashamnu, an alphabetic acrostic of our collective transgressions, which is part of the public […]

By Mayim Bialik LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In the Reform synagogue I was raised in, they taught us a song around the Jewish New Year: Let’s be friends. Make amends. Now’s the time to say I’m sorry. Let’s be friends. Make amends. Please say you’ll forgive me. For the 10 days of teshuvah, it’s time to make up; time to […]

By JULIE MATLIN MONTREAL (JTA) – Picking through gefilte fish in the kosher department, searching for the freshest packages, I think of my Grandma Fanny. She made her gefilte fish from scratch, lovingly combining the cod, whitefish, pike and whatever other secret ingredients she threw in that made it so good. “This is delicious,” my brother’s roommate remarked one year. […]

BY BEATA ABRAHAM (JTA via Kveller) – I can’t help but wonder why Hallmark and the retail world at large haven’t co-opted the Jewish New Year. True, while there may “only” be some 5 million to 7 million Jews in the U.S. (depending on who’s counting), Rosh Hashanah is a particularly important holiday on the Jewish calendar. Many Jews spend […]

By PENNY SCHWARTZ NEW YORK CITY (JTA)  – A Rosh Hashanah apple cake bake-off fit for reality television and another installment in the Scarlet and Sam series from the award-winning author Eric A. Kimmel are among the highlights in the crop of new High Holiday books for children. Six engaging reads for kids of all ages seize the spirit of the […]