Rosh Hashana

If Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgement and Yom Kippur, ten days later, is the Day of Atonement, it would seem that the order of the days is out of sequence. Surely forgiveness should be sought and would be preferable before the trial rather than being judged and only then pursuing some absolution for [...]

I don’t know why, but I had the most random thoughts while flying back from Cape Town the other night. Everyone was having a good shloff all around me, there was no one to chat with. My wife had tucked the nosh just out of my reach and I surely did not want to disturb [...]

On Rosh Hashana night we dip apples into honey. Why honey? The reason is because honey is sweet and also because we get honey from bees. Actually, we get two things from bees, honey and beestings, one sweet, one painful. Bees feature in these weeks Parasha. Moshe reminds the nation how immediately after the sin [...]

How come it is that sometimes we feel our Rosh Hashana and Yom Hakippurim prayers are nothing short of awesome and sometimes they seem somewhat flat? Wherein lies the difference one year from the next? The speeches, perhaps? The Chazan and Choir? The people between whom you may find yourself squished? How about the weather? [...]

The Vilna Gaon, the preeminent Torah sage who lived in the 18th century taught that Mankind’s primary occupation in this world is to refine our characters. To take our natural predispositions and to work on them, on ourselves, to ensure that we become more than what we have in fact become. This implies that YES!! [...]