Thursday, October 8th 2026 |
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
As a child, one of my favorite holiday songs was Ani Purim, which asks, madua lo tavo, Purim, paamayim ba-shavua: “Why, O Purim, do you not come twice every week?!”
While such a proposal seems,...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The first prayer we customarily offer each morning are words of gratitude: Modeh/Modah ani – we thank God for restoring us to life and awareness when we wake. This ritual pattern is worthy of a...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Rabban Gamliel was Nasi – head of the Sanhedrin – ancient Israel’s national deliberative body and highest court. A brilliant scholar and able leader, Gamliel had a fatal character flaw. He repeatedly introduced bitter partisan...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Geshem – the Prayer for Rain – is chanted on Shemini Atzeret, the concluding day of Succot. Cantors dress in a white robe or Kittel, as on the High Holy Days, reflecting the importance of...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Henny Youngman, the stand-up comic known as “The King of the One-Liners,” quipped: “I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up – They have no holidays.”
The month of Mar-Cheshvan (also known...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
In one of my family’s favorite movies, “The Princess Bride,” Inigo Montoya (played by Mandy Patinkin) avers: “You told me to go back to the beginning, so I have.” His statement represents a turning point....
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The Festival of Succot prescribes, as its central observance, the construction of temporary shelters – the Succah – in which we “dwell” throughout the Holiday and, especially, eat our meals. Rabbi Akiba teaches that the...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
It is customary on Rosh Hashanah, or later during the Ten Days of Repentance, to perform the ceremony of “Tashlich.” We go to a body of water and symbolically cast off our past sins and...
By RABBI JOSEPH H.PROUSER
It is customary to prepare for the High Holy Days by visiting cemeteries, to reflect and to pray at the graves of parents and family members. This admirable custom, Kever Avot, affords the living the opportunity...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Carrying the Torah Scroll in conjunction with its public reading (or on other liturgical occasions) is a signal honor. Some customarily take the scroll in their right hand (for greater control and security), while others insist...
