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Whether you’re spending this Thanksgiving alone or with others, use this blessing to send a message of love and peace to those you care about.    May you feel love and security wherever you go. May you radiate with light and gratitude throughout your days. May a spirit of amazement reside within you always, and may you find peace. (adapted from the blessing for children)

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If you haven’t made homemade pickles yet, the recipe also works with store-bought sours. Fried pickles make a great hors d’oeuvre, especially with the garlic aioli. Sweet pickles will definitely work in place of sour pickles, but may put your Ashkenazi street cred in jeopardy. Note that a thermometer is important for this recipe. Serves 8  INGREDIENTS FOR THE AIOLI:   1 large egg  1 egg yolk  2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice  1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard, homemade (page 32) or store-bought ...

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Gratefulness connects us up to the great flow of receptivity and generosity. When we begin the day in gratefulness, we step on to the path of love. מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ רוח חַי וְקַיָּם שֶהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ Modeh ah-nee lifanecha, Ru-ach chai v’kayam, she-hechezarta bee nishma-tee b’chemlah rabbah emunatecha!  I give thanks before you, living and eternal Spirit, for You have returned within me my soul with compassion; how great is Your faith in me!

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Birkhat haGomel (Blessing of Gratitude) is commonly said after recovering from serious illness or delivering a baby, but can also be recited in appreciation for completing a dangerous journey. It's usually recited in a group of at least 10 other adults who can offer the response.  First, one person offers this blessing: Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, ha-gomel l’chayavim tovot she-g’malani kol tov. Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who rewards the undeserving with goodness, and...

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Each year, the first time we eat a fruit that only grows at a certain time of year, we say a special blessing, the shehecheyanu, on this new fruit.  בָּרוּך אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וקְִיְמָּנוּ והְִגִיּעָנוּ לַזְמַן הַזֶה Barukh ata adonai elohenu melekh ha-olam, she-hechiyanu, v’kiy'manu, v’higi'anu la-z’man ha-zeh Blessed are You, the One who has kept us alive and sustained us so that we could reach this moment.

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SH’MA KOLEINU Hear our voice, Adonai, our God, be kind, sympathize with us. Willingly and lovingly, accept our prayer. Turn us toward You, Adonai, and we will return to You; Make our days seem fresh, as they once were. Do not cast us away from You; Do not take Your holy presence from us. Do not cast us away as we grow old; Do not desert us as our life ends. Do not abandon us, Adonai, our God, Do not distance...

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Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul. Return to who you are. Return to what you are. Return to where you are born and reborn.

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Roses and Thorns  On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we read the traditional confessional prayer, the Vidui, which has two parts: Ashamnu and Al Chet. Both are written in the first person plural. No matter who surrounds us, we share the responsibility for what we have done wrong and the obligation to do better in the future. Recently, positive versions of the Ashamnu have emerged, helping us appreciate where we have done well in the past year.  Use these modern interpretations...

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Unetaneh Tokef for Black Lives by Imani Romney-Rosa Chapman Each day we hazard our Black lives in the Court of the White World We know our worth Yet the white world is judge-self-appointed We pass before you to be counted 12.5 million bodies stolen 1.8 million mercifully avoided your shores Stolen shores, stolen land 10.7 million arrived unsafely … times 401 years … times infinite human indignities … times ⅗ of a human being We now number 47.8 million In the...

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Though Yom Kippur is a fasting holiday — a day during which we abstain from eating, drinking, and even brushing our teeth or using perfumes — Jewish tradition recognizes that fasting is not a safe practice for all Jews. For this reason, children under the age of 13 and individuals who are pregnant or ill are not required to fast in Yom Kippur. For those who fall into this category, the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services provides a special...

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Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD. They said: I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and might; He is become my deliverance. This is my God and I will enshrine Him; The God of my father, and I will exalt Him. The LORD, the Warrior— LORD is His name! Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into...

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Psalm 118 Praise the LORD, for He is good, His steadfast love is eternal. Let Israel declare, “His steadfast love is eternal.” Let the house of Aaron declare, “His steadfast love is eternal.” Let those who fear the LORD declare, “His steadfast love is eternal.” In distress I called on the LORD; the Lord answered me and brought me relief. The LORD is on my side, I have no fear; what can man do to me? With the LORD on my...

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Psalm 130  A song of ascents. Out of the depths I call You, O LORD. O Lord, listen to my cry; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy. If You keep account of sins, O LORD, Lord, who will survive? Yours is the power to forgive so that You may be held in awe. I look to the LORD; I look to Him; I await His word. I am more eager for the Lord than watchmen for the...

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Many Jewish traditions link water to purification. We ritually wash our hands before meals. We immerse in the mikvah at moments of transition and transformation. And during Tishrei, the month of the High Holidays, we use water to cast our sins away in a ritual called tashlich.  Tashlich is a simple but powerful ritual. Start by finding a large, natural body of flowing water like a lake, river, sea or ocean. If there's fish in the water, even better. Fish getting...

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High Holidays in Five Senses  What do the High Holidays smell like?  They smell of freshly-baked sweet challah, the vanilla-y pages of an old book, your grandfather’s aftershave, the tang of the etrog and the perfume of lulav branches. What do the High Holidays feel like?   They feel like fists beating on chests, shifting your tush on a wooden pew in an unairconditioned sanctuary, running your fingers through the fringes of a tallit, dropping crumbs into the water as you cast...

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Like people, the Universe has a birthday and it falls on Rosh Hashanah. And like our birthdays, it’s a moment for us to dwell in a moment of renewal and recreation. We open ourselves up and rewrite our stories and our aspirations for the next year.  As we close our Rosh Hashanah seder, we make a fourth and final toast to Recreation, adapted from Emily Stern: “Each moment is a microcosm of who we are becoming. We bless each other and...

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Rituals are the place where we blend memories, identities and meaning. Rosh Hashanah is known as a day of remembrance - a monumental moment - where we sit in the balance between past and future. We remember our ancestors and our actions as we reflect on what they have taught us.  Together, we raise a glass and make a toast to Remembrance with this quote from Abraham Joshua Heschel:  “The authentic individual is neither an end nor a beginning but a...

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Since the start of the month of Elul 30 days ago, our internal calculators have been in overdrive. Cheshbon haNefesh means an accounting of the soul, reflecting on a whole year of triumphs and mistakes and asking for forgiveness as we work to forgive others. We look backwards in order to move forward.  Together, we make a toast to Judgment, Justice and Transparency, adapted from Rami M. Shapiro:  "Today we stand before the Mirror of All, to see ourselves as we...

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Our first toast is to Yom Truah, the Day of Reawakening.  “Truah!” shouts the shofar, blasting the alarm buried in your soul. The shofar wakes us up, and it amplifies our voices, making our prayers heard. Move in your body, stand in your power and be loud.  Together, we raise a glass and make a Toast to Reawakening from Psalm 118:  “From the narrowness of distress, I called to God; and God answered me with the breath of Divine relief. You...