Merrick Fagan is a bass player and bartender, not a rabbi, but during the High Holy Days, he is entrusted with a sacred, God-ordained task. At Rosh Hashanah morning services, he blows a hollowed-out ...

The shofar, the most significant symbol and vehicle for the Holy Days, represents a multiplicity of interpretations and depth of meaning in our tradition. The shape, the sound, the source, and ...

A crowd of kids wriggled in their chairs with excitement and amusement, most of their eyes locked in rapt attention on Rabbi Aron Rabin as he spoke. “What animal is this?” he asked the children, ...

Is green the theme of the shofar this Rosh Hashanah season? In a year of sustainability and carbon footprints, high gas and hybrids, the shofar is the simplest, most eco-friendly method of reaching ...

When we comment on the physical rituals of our tradition, it’s usually to discuss what they symbolize. Whether it’s a mezuzah, tallit, succah, Kiddush cup, Hannukah candle or an elaborate Seder table, ...

The New Year is marked by one commandment: the mitzvah of blowing the shofar. And yet the rabbis formulated the blessing before the actual performance thus: “…who has commanded us to listen to the ...

(RNS) — The scene around the Capitol on Wednesday (Jan. 6) may look like a set piece from the “Ten Commandments” movie, as scores of Jericho March participants lift shofars to their lips. Shofar ...

For Janise Poticha, unable to be near her sister ill with COVID, the ritual became a symbol of life with biblical meaning. And she’s not sure when it will end. (JTA) — Rabbi Janise Poticha had been ...