This week in our fall Introduction to Judaism course, we dove into the Hebrew Calendar and the way it has developed over time. We looked at the Hebrew months, the holidays, and the way we count the years as the Sages did, by dating back to the creation of the world. Together, we explored questions about what makes Jewish time so special and attempted to find some possible answers. Sacred time, space, and ritual can perhaps be best visualized through our havdalah service that ends Shabbat, when we extinguish the havdalah candle and mark the separation between Shabbat and the rest of the week. If Shabbat is one day of the week, that makes the majority of our week not sacred, almost acting as a subtle reminder to us of the mundanity of everyday life. But the idea of sacred time doesn’t have to be limited to the expectations set by ancient [...]

As a lover of Jewish time, I always make a point to keep an eye on the moon as its light fluctuates throughout the month. Last week, we saw the full moon of the month Elul light up our night sky. However, the full moon wasn’t as full as it typically appears. On Tuesday night, if you looked up at just the right minute, you would’ve seen a partial lunar eclipse in which the moon was partially obscured by the shadow of the earth. Though we knew it was coming, it was still a bit unsettling to know that the full moon we had come to expect was going to look a little different for a few moments in our night sky. As the moon is now in its waning phases, we know we are coming closer to the end of the Hebrew month. This Saturday night, Ashkenazi Jews [...]

This week, we read the double Torah portion, Nitzavim-Vayeilech. Nitzavim in particular is jam-packed with “good stuff”, including a pretty intense pep talk from Moses to the Israelites as they continue their preparation to enter the Promised Land. This text, which we will read again on Yom Kippur, declares:לֹא בַשָּׁמַיִם הִוא לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲלֶה־לָּנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה׃ וְלֹא־מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם הִוא לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲבׇר־לָנוּ אֶל־עֵבֶר הַיָּם וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה׃כִּ י־קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאֹד בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ׃It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” No, the thing is [...]

Ani L’dodi V’dodi Li The rabbis teach that the word Elul, the name of this month, is an acronym for the well-known phrase from Song of Songs: “Ani L’dodi, v’dodi li—I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine” (Shir HaShirim 6:3). Elul serves as a month of deep connection to ourselves and others, as well as connecting with our actions towards ourselves and others. What can we make of this love letter? What can we make of it when we are trying to look inward for reflection as we approach the new year? We find ourselves more than halfway through the month of Elul, the days of doing this work are waning—what can we do to make these days count? I interpret this hidden message to be a similar message to Pirkei Avot: “if I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only [...]