This is the fourth of six weekly columns by Rabbi Zimmerman leading up to Yom Kippur. The cosmic principle of the entire High Holy Days season is teshuvah, which, unfortunately, is often translated as ...

I spent the first three days of Elul polishing a lamp that has hung in the upstairs stairwell of my home for 80 years. I thought that the lamp was made out of cast iron, but discovered after applying ...

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Armed with this additional intelligence, we now know to carry an umbrella on rainy days; always walk with our eyes open; and use that footbridge regularly (and leave the waders at home). Suddenly, we ...

It feels strange to say that Yom Kippur — which involves a 25-hour fast, a long day in shul and atoning for your sins before God — is my favorite Jewish holiday. But I take Yom Kippur, and the process ...

Years ago, I confided in a mentor about my struggle to balance raising children with building a career. I admitted to moments of envy toward those who seemed to give themselves wholly to one ...

For Lee Weissman, a Breslov Chasid in Irvine, Calif., who has developed close ties with local Muslims, this year’s Elul caps a spiritual journey he began a month ago with the onset of the Muslim holy ...

The Arizal (1534-1572) – the greatest of the Kabbalists – notes that the initial letters of the words “ina l’yado v’samti loch – [G-d] caused [accidental death] to happen to his hand, and I shall ...

As we approach the Days of Awe, our annual exercise in self scrutiny and stock-taking can be a daunting task. Rather than highlight a single ethical dilemma this week, I offer here some suggestions, ...

The celebrated first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel, Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook (1865-1935) is recognized as being among the most important Jewish thinkers of all time. His writings reflect ...

Sefardi communities have begun the Selichot prayers which parallel the forty days from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Yom Kippur which Moshe Rabbeinu spent on Mount Sinai. It is written in the Responsa of the ...