Whether they are Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist or Reform, whether they gather on a California beach or in a New York City synagogue, Jews share at least one common element at their Rosh ...

Of all the commandments in the Torah, the blowing of the shofar on the Jewish New Year is one of the most important. The ancient sound — signaling the beginning of the days of repentance — is heard on ...

The Torah urges us to return to God. One prominent term describes God’s hope that we, the Jewish People, will “lishmo’a b’kolo” (hearken to His voice; Deuteronomy 30:20). The word kol (voice) ...

On a recent morning walk in the neighborhood, my wife and I approached a street corner where about a dozen people seemed to be waiting for someone. We were mildly curious but kept walking. Just after ...

Mark Lipof blows a shofar during the lead-up to Yom Kippur at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Mass., in 2010. Michael Fein/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images It’s the Jewish High ...

Merrick Fagan is a bass player and bartender, not a rabbi, but during the High Holy Days, he is entrusted with a sacred, God-ordained task. At Rosh Hashanah morning services, he blows a hollowed-out ...

Growing up in White Meadow Lake during the 1960's, Eric Freedman had an unspectacular career at Hebrew school. He recalls daydreaming about basketball during classes and making the occasional ...

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and the opening of its High Holidays, heralds a time for reflection and renewal. But it ushers the season in with the most jolting introduction it can get: The ...

The shofar blasts and then pierces. It goes inside, cleanses. There is but one mitzvah - a commandment of Jewish law - for the Jewish New Year: Hear the sound of the shofar. Rosh Hashanah was in ...

(THE CONVERSATION) It’s the Jewish High Holiday season, and Jews the world over are preparing to visit their local synagogues – for community, for prayer, and to hear the arresting, soulful sounds of ...