A powerful collection of writings about Rosh Hashanah that will add depth and holiness to your experience of the spiritual New Year.
This compelling companion to Yom Kippur Readings helps create a bridge between the words of our ancestors and the meanings, themes and ideas that are the central spiritual agenda of the life of the modern Jew.
Drawn from a variety of sources—ancient, medieval, modern, Jewish and non-Jewish—this selection of readings, prayers and insights explores the opportunities for inspiration and reflection inherent in the subjects addressed on the Jewish New Year: sin, repentance, personal and social change, societal justice, forgiveness, spiritual growth, living with joy and hope, commitment to high ideals, becoming our truest and most authentic selves, deepening our capacity to love and savoring the divine gift of life. These readings enable you to enter into the spirit of Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe in a personal and powerful way while they uplift and inform. They will add to the benefits of your High Holy Day experience year after year.
Table of Content
Introduction xvii
Opening Meditations and Thoughts 1
The Month of Elul: Preparing for the Days of Awe 19
Beginning Our Search for Words and Prayers 41
Words of Faith: Hear O Israel! 59
Standing before God: The Shacharit Amidah 71
Avinu Malkenu 87
Roots and Themes from the Torah 99
Inspiration from the Prophets 145
Tik’u Va-Chodesh Shofar: The Blowing of the Shofar 163
Yom Ha’zikaron: The Day of Remembrance 189
Repentance 203
U’netaneh Tokef: Repentance, Prayer, and Justice Can Annul
the Decree 223
V’khol Ma’aminim: That Which We All Believe 247
Various Aspects of the Musaf Amidah 257
Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, Shofarot 269
Today Is the Only Day That Counts 305
Rosh Hashanah Rituals and Customs 311
Acknowledgments 335
Sources 336
About the Contributors 350
Credits 361
About the author
Arthur Green, Ph D, is recognized as one of the world’s preeminent authorities on Jewish thought and spirituality. He is the Irving Brudnick professor of philosophy and religion at Hebrew College and rector of the Rabbinical School, which he founded in 2004. Professor emeritus at Brandeis University, he also taught at the University of Pennsylvania and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where he served as dean and president.Dr. Green is author of several books including Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow; Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology; Your Word Is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer; and Tormented Master: The Life and Spiritual Quest of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (all Jewish Lights). He is also author of Radical Judaism (Yale University Press) and co-editor of Speaking Torah: Spiritual Teachings from around the Maggid’s Table. He is long associated with the Havurah movement and a neo-Hasidic approach to Judaism.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
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