Sukkot was traditionally one of the great pilgrimage festivals, when the people ascended to Jerusalem to bring the harvest offerings of grain, wine, and oil. In the days of the Temple, seventy [...]

As I look up at the yellowing redwood leaves that have barely received rain since Pesach, I feel the communal introspection and repentance of Yom Kippur lingering over us. Our core prayer [...]

The Call of Teshuva I always find it funny that Yom Kippur is usually considered the somber day of self-examination and teshuva, while Rosh Hashanah is thought of as celebratory and sweet — when [...]

Elul, Air, and the Divine Breath of the Shofar In this ever turning dance of the seasons, we find ourselves once again entering the month of Elul. This month begins with a [...]

We just ended our time of communal mourning with the holiday of Tisha B’av. A scant six days later, in the full moon of Av, we have a very, very different holiday [...]

Shalom, all of you lovers of Wilderness and of Torah, as we walk this path together! Every year, as we complete the counting of the Omer, – the 7 weeks of incremental [...]

Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer. Lag is Gematria for the number 33—Lamed ל is 30, and Gimel ג is 3. Simple enough. The Omer, though, may not be [...]