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What’s Your Reason and Kippah Alignment

At the pre-Rosh-Hashanah Challah Babka Bake a student came over to me and asked me this question:

“Rabbi, I noticed you tend to wear your kippah tilted to a side, usually on the left side of your head, and wondered … Read the rest

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First Night Symbolic, Second Night Exotic

Rosh Hashanah, even in Israel, has two nights (and days) of holiday. Each of the nights, aside for all the delicious festive foods, has a specific type of food addition.

FIRST NIGHT: SYMBOLIC

The most famous of the symbolic foods … Read the rest

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The Reaction, The Response

We’re going with an emojis to illustrate the concept of reaction and response, and you know how we crave and cherish a response, even a gesture as simple as a like – but the truth is it cuts a lot … Read the rest

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Turning Point at Rosh Hashanah

This week leading up to Rosh Hashanah 5786/2025 there’s been lots of mention of “Turning Point” in the news following the shooting of Charlie Kirk which shook (and in some ways also divided) the nation. Locally, I found many of … Read the rest

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Frankie Focus just before High Holidays 2025

While not an endorsement of Governor Hochul these days, perhaps there’s something to learn from the NYS rollout of the lime-green shaggy-haired “Frankie-Focus” mascot (see also Chris Churchill’s Sep 9th “Times-Union” piece on this) of the new cell-phone … Read the rest

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The Problem (and Blessing) of Recognition Alone

A big news item going into Rosh Hashanah of 5786/2025 is the announcement by several major European states (including France, England, even Canada) to go ahead with a recognition-only announcement.

The interesting thing (for purposes of this post) is that … Read the rest

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A Tuesday Rosh Hashanah

This 2025 calendar setup of Tuesday-Wednesday midweek Jewish holidays is a tough one for working folks, as well as for observant college students who will be missing a ton of work.

But as we learned in our “Three Day YomTov”Read the rest

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Revisiting the definition of Eras

Thinking that the past few years have seen a redefinition of the term “ERA” from a lengthy period of time for large swaths of people, to now be seen as a temporary phase or passing interest or style for an … Read the rest

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Goodyear Tire’s Good Year Message

As we titled our “Shana Tova Fair” on campus this year, a spin on the Goodyear (which is literally what Shana Tova means) Tire – was thinking of the relevance of tires as we approach the Jewish New Year of … Read the rest

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Some Takeaways from Emek Jezreel College Visit – Fall 2025

Rabbi Eliav came back with another group of students from Emek Jezreel College in Israel’s center-north near Afulah. It was a beautiful Shabbat together, they enhanced our Shabbat and spent quality time formally and informally with our students, and they … Read the rest

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