Prepare Your Soul for the Jewish High Holy Days

What can an ancient Biblical ritual about two goats teach us about blame, guilt and forgiveness?  Temple Sinai member Jeremy Wolfe contemplates what it would be like if everyone were looking at you, casting blame upon you for the sins of the whole people, and explores the ritual of the scapegoat described in Leviticus.

It's an Elul tradition to hear the Shofar's call every day during this month that leads up to Rosh Hashanah. But what do we hear in the Shofar when it calls to us? How does the Shofar speak to our hearts? Rabbi Andy Vogel looks at three traditional interpretations of the Shofar. And some incredible Shofar jazz closes out the episode.

Listen to a live performance of "Adon HaSelichot," a Middle Eastern piyyut, or liturgical poem, by Temple Sinai's own Leah Carnow, our Vocalist & Rabbinic Intern this year, and Yoni Battat, playing oud. This alphabetical poem from the 11th century has reminded Jews in every century that God's essential nature is to forgive. Thank you to Leah and Yoni for this beautiful performance!

It's been a challenging year for teenagers. Temple Sinai's teens speak with Rabbi Vogel about how the COVID-19 crisis has affected them this year, how they've found strength to cope, and whether they are hopeful or pessimistic as they approach Rosh Hashanah and a new Jewish year.  Featuring interviews with Ezra Weintroub, Gabe Krakauer, and Sasha Kalvert, who participate in Sinai U, our program for teens.

Politics and prayer make for a complicated pair - and that's exactly what the Jewish "Prayer for Our Country" sets us up for.  How can we recite the "Prayer for Our Country" during this complicated time? Rabbi Andy Vogel examines the history of this prayer, and considers the intersection between politics, prayer and Jews, especially as we enter a new Jewish year.

The Creation story (Genesis 1) is the alternate Torah portion that Temple Sinai will read this year on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, when God renews creation each year. But with so many things wrong with the world today, how can we re-experience the beauty and joy of life just as it existed when the world was new? Temple Sinai member Robin Orwant answers with her reflections from a beautiful midrash.

What were the most cathartic High Holy Days over the past 50 years? Looking back over his career, our rabbi emeritus Rabbi Frank Waldorf talks about his most traumatic Yom Kippur, his most challenging sermon, and how the Pope himself helped Temple Sinai get back to Brookline. Listen to Rabbi Vogel's interview with him as he talks about how messages from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur continue to urgently speak to our hearts from the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Rabbi Waldorf served Temple Sinai from 1974-2004, when he retired, and he remains beloved in our community.

It's surprising how frequently the metaphor of "gates" is used throughout the Jewish High Holy Days. Rabbi Vogel explores how the "gates" seem like they are about to slam shut as the late afternoon of the Ne'ilah ("locking") service approaches and Yom Kippur is about to end, and yet, how Jewish tradition also teaches that "the Gates of Repentance are never closed." What does all that mean?

On Rosh Hashanah, the world is pregnant with new possibilities! Rabbi Talia Stein reflects on the metaphor of the birth of the world -- like a birth, the holiday of Rosh Hashanah can be challenging, but it can also inspire us to carefully measure out our actions for a new beginning. "Hayom Harat Olam" -- today, the world is reborn!  Join us for another episode from Temple Sinai, Brookline, MA.

Both Mick Jagger and King David teach that "if you try sometimes, you get what you need." What is the one thing YOU need to work on in your life, as a line from Psalm 27 asks us, as we enter the month of Elul? How can prayer help us focus on what we want and what we need? This episode includes the beautiful music of Chava Mirel and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, singing verse 4 from Psalm 27, and also a quickie by the Stones.