We're beginning the annual Torah reading cycle this Shabbat and we begin at the beginning, Creation, the chapter that most people believe is the biggest fairy tale of them all. I hope this podcast changes that perception for you.

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This episode is guaranteed not to win me many friends among the ritually rigid Jewish communities here and abroad, but it had to be said. Jews who should know better are blatantly violating a prime Torah-originated directive and add to their sin by bringing disgrace to God's Holy Name.

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We moderns may think Sukkot is just one big antiquated festival filled with silly rituals and, yes, even an embarrassment of sorts, Well, think again—and listen to the reasons why.

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Yom Kippur is NOT about such things as keeping kosher or keeping Shabbat merely because we're supposed to. It's about understanding what these rituals are really about—and what Yom Kippur is really about: How we relate to other people and to the world around us. Also, there's no "absolution" at the end of Yom Kippur because that's when repentance actually begins.

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This is the second installment of my High Holy Days series. Tere nay be a few surprises here. A happy, healthy, SAFE, and peaceful 5781.

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When you consider the image of God sitting on a throne and reviewing a list of who was naughty in 5780 and who was nice, it makes it difficult to take Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur too seriously—and that would be a mistake.

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We're doing things a bit differently this week. In an effort to discover how High Holy Days services can be more meaningful, especially for peoplr who don't often attend synagogue during the year, if at all, we've brought just such a sometimes shul-goer and a cantor (he's also a rabbi) for a conversation.

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The Torah, including in this week's reading—Ki Tetzei—has much to say about our responsibilities to the so-called "lower life forms" on our planet, and the kosher laws have a role to play in that concern, as well. We also have two very special guests from Southern California who understand those responsibilities and act on it in their daily lives.

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A 4 1/2/-year-old knows more about keeping safe amid COVID-19 than many adults, especially if you believe some recent surveys

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How we and the other adults behave serve as influenbces on our children, with frightening results according to one important survey. And it is compounded by the kinds of dirty campaigning we're currently being subjected to.

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