Search results for Rosh Hashanah

On the High Holidays, we must face God and each other. We stand together and sing out loud that we are a single, united community. At the same time, we turn to God and say directly, face to Face, “we are Yours.”

How can we hold both of these commitments and achieve atonement, together and before God? With essays from Hadar faculty and activities for children and families, this reader will help you explore our relationships with each other and with God as we make our way through the Days of Awe.

The High Holidays are often a time out of time, where we re-examine our relationship to God, ourselves, and our communities; we reflect on ways to make ourselves and these lines of connection stronger and more vibrant. Certainly, the Covid-19 reality of social distancing challenges the traditional setting for this self-reflection: An individual, bolstered by community, standing before God. But these times also create opportunities for re-visioning—seeing things anew and growing in the process.

In these pages, the Hadar faculty has tackled many theological, spiritual, and emotional questions that may arise this holiday season. In what ways must the individual rise to the occasion in the absence of community? What do we expect from God, demand from God, in our prayers this year? What creative avenues are available for conceptualizing community, when we don’t gather en masse? How do we foster celebration and joy in a time of loneliness and stress?