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ROSH HASHANAH

The festival of Rosh HaShanah, literally the ‘Head of the Year,’ marks the start of the Hebrew calendar year. This year it falls on 16th September, and commences the year 5773. It is the first celebration of the Fall Festival cycle that we refer to as the High Holidays, which includes Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The fall holiday cycle ends with the final festival of Sukkot. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the Day of Remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25. “Speak to the people of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of complete rest, a holy convocation commemorated with trumpet blasts.”

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Review, Repent and Forgive

The month of Elul is a time to review, repent, and forgive. It is a time to take inventory of your life… looking back, letting go and prepare for the coming year.

I recently came across as story called “A Broken Heart” in The Jewish Woman Magazine part of chabad.org and I wanted to share it with you not only because it touched my heart, but because it epitomizes what Elul is about.

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The Month of Elul

It is Inventory Season and Elul, the last month of the Jewish year, is a time to review the past and look at where you've come in life. It's a preparation for the upcoming "Days of Awe" – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – when we resolve to do better this year than last.

The theme of Elul is return to your essential self – a.k.a. teshuvah – helped along by prayer and charity. "The king is in the field," they say, meaning that the G-dly spark within you is much more accessible, as long as you search for it.

Some customs for the month of Elul:

  • The blowing of the Shofar - Each day (excepting Shabbat), a ram's horn (called a shofar) is blown after the morning services. It's a wake-up call to spiritually prepare for Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is a wake-up call to spiritually prepare for Rosh Hashanah
  • Adding a special closing when writing a letter - we sign off, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."
  • Adding Chapter 27 of Psalms to the morning and afternoon daily prayers.
  • Saying three additional chapters of Psalms, sequentially, each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur—when the remainder of Psalms is completed.
  • Having your tefillin and mezuzot inspected by a scribe to ensure that they are still in good condition.

Selichot

Selichot are prayers to G-d asking for forgiveness. Sephardic Jews recite special selichot early every morning of Elul. Ashkenazi Jews begin these selichot shortly after midnight on the Sunday morning before Rosh Hashanah—unless this start date doesn't allow for a minimum of four days of selichot, in which case, they start selichot on the Sunday morning before that. Selichot are then recited daily before the morning prayers until Rosh Hashanah. Many continue reciting selichot until Yom Kippur.

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Honest Reporting on CNN’s Palesinian Olympic Runner Story

The Olympics were just a few weeks ago and inspired many all over the world. Often you see stories that tell where the athletes come from an obstacles they've over come. But one was used not only to share how the athlete over came, but to spread propaganda and lies as well.

Below is a video from Honest Reporting where Yarden Frankl discusses CNN's feature on a Palestinian Olympic runner and the obstacles she faces due to "Israel's occupation" and hardships in the West Bank.

(Click Here to watch the entire video on CNN)

While we realize this runner did face many obstacles to reach the Olympics, training in the West Bank was not one of them. We ask the you help us get the word out about how biased the media is by clicking Like, Tweet, G+ or Share below.

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Tammuz 17 this year is on Sunday, July 8, 2012.

Tammuz is a fast day. Since the actual date falls on a Shabbat, and we do not fast or mourn on a Shabbat it is postponed until the following day.

We fast both food and drink  from dawn to sunset-  in our locale  from 5:46 am to about 8:30pm or 3 stars.

The fast of the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, known as Shiva Asar B'Tammuz, is the start of a three-week mourning period for the destruction of Jerusalem and the two Holy Temples. It ends on Tisha b’Av or with the fast of the 9th of Av, this year on July 29th. …

Tammuz 17 this year is on Sunday, July 8, 2012. Read More »

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