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Rosh Hashanah

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Collection
Collage of tallit, a kippah, and other Jewish ritual objects.

The Question that Sparked My Jewish Journey

Yona Pianko

I hadn’t thought much at all about why I engaged with Judaism—or even why I was Jewish beyond having been born that way.

Chef Jerzy Gonzalez Arroyo

The Amazing Flavors of Chef Jerzy

Shoshana McKinney Kirya-Ziraba

Chef Jerzy Gonzalez-Arroyo takes her clients on a cultural journey of amazing Sephardi flavors.

Cantor Jacqueline Rafii

7 Questions For Cantor Jacqueline Rafii

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with Persian-American cantor Jacqueline Rafii.

Album cover showing two faces and the words Monajat: Galeet Dardashti featuring Younes Dardashti

7 Questions For Galeet Dardashti

Mirushe "Mira" Zylali

JWA talks to Dr. Galeet Dardashti, cultural anthropologist and singer, about her new album Monajat.

Collage of character from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse on gold background

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse Taught Me the Importance of Teshuvah

Clara Sorkin

When I thought about where I learned how to make amends, I realized it wasn't just from Hebrew school or from my family. It was, instead, one of my most-read books from childhood: Kevin Henkes’ Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse.

Outlined drawings of city skyline, old synagogue, girl writing, and other doodles on red background

Confronting the Mechitza in Hamburg

Adina Gerwin

At the Hamburg synagogue, I found myself in a place literally built to go against the foundational egalitarian principles my Judaism had always been about.

Cover of Uncultured book and co-authors of book

During Shmita, Finally Learning to Let Go

Brandi Larsen

In the year after co-writing a memoir, also the year of shmita, I learned how to let go of my failures and begin anew. 

A charcuterie board with cheese and fruit

Charcuterie: More Jewish Than You Think!

Catherine Horowitz

Here’s how to put a distinctly Jewish spin on the charcuterie trend.

Photo of Emily Barth Isler Holding Her Book, "After/Math"

How To Mark A New Year

Emily Barth Isler

Author Emily Barth Isler discusses what it means to her to have her debut novel, AfterMath, launch on Rosh Hashanah.

Episode 46: Virtual Holidays: Lessons from our Muslim friends (Transcript)

Episode 46: Virtual Holidays: Lessons from our Muslim friends (Transcript)

Episode 45: Shofar in the Desert (Transcript)

Episode 45: Shofar in the Desert (Transcript)

Belinda Brock's parents crop

The Language of the High Holidays

Belinda Brock

Rosh Hashanah connects us to each other and to our roots—even virtually.

Episode 45: Shofar in the Desert

No sound is more iconic for the Jewish New Year than that of the shofar blast. This year, many Jews will hear the sound of the shofar virtually. Can We Talk? producer Sarah Ventre is one of hundreds of shofar blowers who will share their shofar blasts with their congregations over Zoom. In this special Rosh Hashanah mini-sode, Sarah ventures into the urban desert in Phoenix, Arizona to practice blowing her shofar. She shares her thoughts on what the shofar blast means to her this year, during the global pandemic.

Maddy Pollack speaking at her Bat Mitzvah party, microphone in hand. Cake on a table in front of her with text "Mazel Tov, Maddy."

The Only Jewish Kid

Maddy Pollack

When I was in third grade, my teacher asked me to tell my class about the Jewish New Year.

Apples and honey

High Holiday Poems

Maia Evrona

Exclusively for JWA, poet Maia Evrona shares two poems for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler's Family Menorah

Building a Home

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

As a former Gender Studies major, I have a lot of hang-ups about the concept of building a home. ... I don’t know what kind of Jewish household I’m going to run yet—but I do know the joys of tradition, both old and new, are hardwired in me.

Woman Reading Torah

A Dance on the Bimah

Rachel King

I sensed some apprehension in the sanctuary as we settled into our seats for Rosh Hashanah services. The congregation was experiencing a first: a woman was leading the clergy for the first time in congregational history. Joining her on the bimah was our second rabbi, also a woman. I knew there were some in the congregation who wondered what it would be like to begin this new year without male leadership at the top.

Rosh Hashanah Marge Piercy

The Birthday of the World

Bella Book

As we say goodbye to 5777 and come together at the start of 5778, Marge Piercy’s poem “The Birthday of the World” has been resonating through the halls of JWA. Like Piercy, we’re asking ourselves: How have we worked to make change this past year? What have we dared? What will we do in the coming year to further justice, to speak out and take a stand?

Plated Spaghetti Squash

Rosh Hashanah Spaghetti Squash

Lisa Yelsey

It’s been a tough year, and 5777 perhaps didn’t bring with it all the promise and renewal we thought it would. I hope that, in this new year, we all have opportunities for positive change and growth. May we also have the strength and opportunity to create change in the world at large.

Pomegranate Glazed Vegetables, Final Plating Photo

Pomegranate Glazed Roasted Vegetables

Lisa Yelsey

It is now the time of year when 90% of my conversations with my mother are about what we’re making for Rosh Hashanah dinner. So far I am scheduled to make the challah, rugelach, vegetarian matzoh ball soup, roasted vegetables, and at least one other dessert. Am I ready? Not even a little bit. I’ve opted for a recipe involving a pomegranate glaze and carrots because of their traditional cultural elements and the way their flavors balance each other out. This has a 100% success rate and is delicious, filling, healthy, and holiday-appropriate!

Topics: Rosh Hashanah
Final Plating Photo

Apple Pound Cake with Honey Whipped Cream

Lisa Yelsey

As my first assignment at JWA, I am tackling the legendary but polarizing Rosh Hashanah dessert: Honey Cake.  An informal poll of every Jewish person I spoke to over the course of a week told me that no one likes it. The strongest emotion I’ve felt about honey cake has been a luke-warm “well, sure.” However, for my inaugural blog post, I was determined to create a recipe that incorporated some of the flavors and ingredients of honey cake.

Topics: Rosh Hashanah

Jewish Diversity and Innovation: The View from the Kitchen

Discover how recipes can tell stories about Jewish history and its ever-changing rich cultural diversity.

Renew Our Days Rosh Hashanah

The Womb from which the World Came

Adina Allen

Judaism does not shy away from the pain of these longings on Rosh Hashanah—in fact, it confronts them head on. This year more than ever I am struck by the stories we read about Sarah and Hannah during these two days. During the holiday we read of Sarah’s yearning for a child and her surprise at conceiving even after her cycle had stopped. And of Hannah’s burning desire for a child that, after many years, finally came to be. What connects these stories of barren women yearning for children and the name of Rosh Hashanah as Hayom Harat Olam (the Day of the World’s Conception)?

Gifts

Holiday Giving

Preeva Tramiel

Today is Christmas, perhaps the ultimate holiday for giving, and I am reflecting on the act, ritualization, and commercialization of "giving."

In the past few weeks the media has been abuzz with commentary on the virtue or the silliness of Giving Tuesday. Social media and a consortium of charities pumped up the idea of naming the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday “Giving Tuesday,” declaring it the beginning of “The Giving Season.”

Cracked Egg Surrounded by Greenery

Strength in Fragility

Susan Reimer-Torn

With the summer’s end, my hands will no longer be gritty from tucking tangled roots into the soil, from weeding out invaders and doling out compost.

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