September 11 | 29 Elul Rabbi Andy and Rabbi Amy wish you a Shana Tova! View the video and its transcript below. Rabbi Amy: Shana Tova, Happy New Year. I'm Rabbi Amy Hertz here in Greensburg, North Carolina at Temple Emanuel. We are just hours away from the new year. We are so excited to see you and greet this new year together. Rabbi Andy: Rabbi Andy Koren, and in just a moment I'm going to sound the shofar. We're about to start the year 5787. And if you take a look at the He

September 10 | 28 Elul Did You Understand? Talmudic question: הבנת דבר מתוך דבר - Havanta davar mitoch davar? The final question asks whether we were able to understand one thing from another, to make connections, to derive meaning, to move beyond information toward wisdom. This may be the perfect question with which to end an Elul journey. The High Holy Days are not simply about remembering what happened during the past year. They are about making meaning from what happened.

September 9 | 27 Elul Did You Keep Asking Questions? Talmudic question: פלפלת בחכמה - Pilpalta b'chochmah? The rabbis imagine being asked whether we engaged in wisdom, whether we wrestled with Torah and ideas deeply enough to sharpen our understanding. This question fits beautifully with the High Holy Days because Judaism does not ask us simply to confess. It asks us to think. The liturgy of the Days of Awe is filled with questions: Who are we? What have we done? Who have we

September 8 | 26 Elul Did You Hope for Redemption? Talmudic question: צפית לישועה - Tzipita l'yeshuah Of all the Talmud's questions, this one may be the most surprising: Did you hope for redemption? The High Holy Days are filled with this same tension between acknowledging how broken the world can be and refusing to give up on the possibility of repair. On Rosh Hashanah we imagine a world in which all creation is gathered before God; on Yom Kippur we ask for forgiveness and t

September 7 | 25 Elul What Did You Bring to Life? Talmudic question: עסקת בפריה ורביה - Asakta b'firya u'rivya? The third question asks whether we engaged in the commandment to be fruitful and multiply. On the surface, this is a question about parenthood and procreation. But as someone who has struggled with my own fertility, I believe we can hear a broader question underneath it: What have you brought creatively into being? Rosh Hashanah is traditionally understood as the bi

September 6 | 24 Elul Did You Make Time for What Matters? Talmudic question: קבעת עתים לתורה - Kavata itim laTorah The second question asks whether we established fixed times for Torah. As we move toward the High Holy Days, this question speaks directly to the practice of making sacred time. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur interrupt our ordinary schedules and insist that there are moments when we need to stop doing and start reflecting. We don't simply stumble into the Days of A

September 5 | 23 Elul Did You Conduct Your Life with Integrity? Talmudic question: נשאת ונתת באמונה - Nasata v'natata be'emunah The first question the Talmud imagines being asked in heaven is surprisingly ordinary. Did you conduct your business dealings honestly? The rabbis don't begin with prayer or ritual. They begin with the way we behave in the everyday transactions of life. That feels particularly appropriate as we approach Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when we recite Al