The road ahead, both in Israel and in the diaspora, is full of hurdles due to the threats from external enemies on the one hand, and the stubbornness of established institutions and religious extremists on the other. Yet it is precisely within these tensions that the next chapter of Jewish history is being written—not in the margins of other nations, but at the center of our own.
The message of Rosh Hashana is realistic…and optimistic. Life has times of profound grief and darkness. But the dawn will come, sunshine will prevail, God will be experienced in love and light.
The Akedah, or binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1–19), [1] is a formative passage in Jewish tradition. It plays a central role on Rosh haShanah, and many communities include this passage in their early morning daily liturgy. What should we learn from this jarring narrative with regard to faith and religious life?
Rabbi Yosef Hayyim unequivocally endorses a curriculum for Jewish education in which from the earliest age onward the student devotes hours of study to Torah and to general knowledge in parallel. He rejects the view that the rationale for such study is, to enhance understanding of Torah. Rather, he presents and endorses four valid rationales for study and acquisition of general knowledge:
A remarkable conference of Sephardic rabbis was held in New York City on August 17-18, 2026. Approximately 150 rabbis and communal leaders from throughout the United States and six countries gathered to study together, share ideas, establish friendships for future networking. The program sessions were held at the UJA-Federation building in midtown Manhattan.
The Heart of the Five Megillot is a model of what responsible, religiously serious Tanakh study can look like in our time. It is compact enough to be read with pleasure yet rich enough to reward repeated return. Readers accustomed to more uniformly traditional treatments will find Angel’s willingness to hold tensions—between peshat and derash, between human passion and divine love, between protest and faith—both challenging and liberating.
In light of the new Pew study on Jewish affiliation, there will be a lot of hand-wringing about what the Jewish community can do to get people more engaged. My revolutionary suggestion? Get to synagogue
Where have all the idealistic student protesters gone? Why are their tents folded up and their bullhorns silent?
Where are the humanitarians with their placards demanding “Stop the Arab Genocide” and “Free Sudan”?
Where are the passionate op-eds and the politicians pointing accusing fingers?
The Torah omits words of thanks from the Cohanim and Levites to teach an important lesson: we are to do the right thing because we want to stand in the presence of God and say: “I’ve done as well as possible.” Our self-worth is not to be determined by what others say or don’t say, but by what we can say about ourselves before God.
It is no coincidence that this Mitzvah of Bikkurim is read in the Torah two weeks before Rosh HaShanah, the special time of renewal. Every year, we are faced with the challenge of finding a new way to bring in the year.