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 the prayer, the sanctity of the occasion, and the function...
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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 as Cheshvan) is notable for its unique and defining lack...
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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. Montoya here begins his transition from a dissolute and lawless...
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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 Succah represents God’s protective Presence during the wilderness period (Sifra...
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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 failings by throwing bread (or pocket lint!) into the water....
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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 to confront our own mortality, to honor the departed, and...
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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 on holding the Sefer Torah on the left side, resting...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The Zohar teaches: “A rope was tied to the leg of the High Priest when he entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, so that, should he die inside, he could be pulled back out!” Our ancestors feared for the life of the High...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Evelyn Garfiel (1900-1987) was an accomplished psychologist, and author of “The Measurement of Motor Ability.” She devoted much of her later life to Jewish scholarship, however, and is gratefully remembered for her survey of the liturgy, “Service of the Heart.”
I fondly remember the kindly...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Whenever I officiate at a wedding – always a joy – I share a teaching attributed to the Baal Shem Tov. The founder of Chassidism taught that from every human being there emanates a supernal light. When a couple destined and well-suited for each other...
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