We offer this listing every year as a service to our readers who are not members of synagogues, and who seek free or low-cost ($40 and under) Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Most synagogues have registration deadlines, even if services are free, while others offer sliding-scale tickets. Chabad services generally are free, and several…
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Holidays
Yom Kippur
Late S.F. Zen Rabbi's book now in paperback
“This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared,” a 2003 book by the late Rabbi Alan Lew about personal transformation and repentance, recently was…
Astrolojew
Elul begins: The King is in the field
Month of Elul, 5778 August 12-September 9 The Hebrew month of Elul marks the beginning of the end of the Jewish Year. During Elul we blow the shofar every…
Recipe
Pair raisins and almonds for sweetness and prosperity
Almonds and raisins are among my favorite pairings for joyful occasions and celebrations, not only because of their flavors but also because they share…
Torah
As we mourn on Tisha B’Av, look to Isaiah’s vision of a healed nation
Devarim Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22 Isaiah 1:1-27 We find ourselves in a time of mourning. This Saturday evening begins Tisha B’Av (the Ninth of Av), culminating…
Holidays
5 Tu B’Av celebrations for you and your special someone
Still obscure outside of Israel, Tu B’Av is rapidly gaining popularity among American Jews. It’s a sort of Jewish Valentine’s Day — a holiday celebrating…
Religion
Why liberal Jews should embrace Tisha B’Av
This year, liberal Jews should lean in to Tisha B’Av. Among other things, the ninth of the month of Av is a crash course in Jewish history. During the…
Health
My son has epilepsy. Cannabis saved his life.
By the time he was 6, Sam Vogelstein was having dozens of epileptic seizures a day. His parents, Evelyn Nussenbaum and Fred Vogelstein of Berkeley,…
Astrolojew
Making sense of the highest highs and lowest lows
Month of Av, 5778 July 13-August 10 , 2018 The Hebrew month of Av runs from July 13 through August 10. It contains both the depths and the heights of the…