Holidays
What are the Jewish holidays for?
What are the Jewish holidays for?
What are they trying to tell us?
There is G-d the creator,
And there is creation,
And we are part of it.
Partners in creating our world.
We are accountable for our actions.
Our words matter.
Our deeds count.
Each moment we are co-creating our reality and the realities of those around us.
“Time to wake up and crown G-d,” says Rosh Hashanah
“Time to gather and give thanks for all that we harvest,” reminds us Sukkot.
“Time to bring the light,” declares Hanukkah.
“Time to plant a seed,” invites Tu Bishvat.
“Time to speak up,” says Purim.
“Time to clear____, and make space to____” asks Pesach.
“Time to receive the Torah,” proclaims Shavuot.
The holidays guide us to become active participants in shaping our lives.
Orit Tabachnik
Practical Wisdom from the Jewish Tradition for a Fresh Beginning
Our Souls cannot be broken that they should need repair,
nor deficient that they should need anything added.
Our souls need only to be uncovered and allowed to shine.
-Rebbe Menachem Schneerson
The High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are designed to help us uncover our soul and allow it to shine. If our day-to-day experiences wear us out, the new year is the time to lift the burden so we can start fresh and anew.
The Hebrew month of Elul is a special time prior to the High Holy Days that is set aside for us to wake up and move closer to fulfilling the purpose of our lives. To try to understand the reason we came into this physical world in the first place.
Zorayda and I invite you to choose one custom from the list below and practice it this month.
High Holy Days Customs
For the purpose of uncovering our souls and starting the new year fresh, the Rabbis designed some customs/practices. Each practice is an important component in a powerful process of transformation.
Teshuva - reflecting on our past year's behavior, and trying to understand what is holding us back from being the best version of ourselves. Teshuva also instructs us to ask for forgiveness from other people, ourselves, and G-d.
Teffila - calls for praying for Divine assistance. It is a great reminder that there is a greater Universal wisdom and energy from which we can draw when we are feeling tired, spent, or confused about how to proceed in life. Ask for help, guidance, and blessings, and listen to the answers in moments of quiet and solitude.
Tzedakah - making amends - usually it means giving money to people in need. However, money is not the only means of Tzedakah. Giving your time and attention, or sharing your talents, gifts, and expertise are all valid and needed aspects of Tzedakah.
Hearing the Shofar - "Hearing the high-pitched blasts of the shofar is also one of the holiday customs. It is an urgent sound that seems to say, wake up! Think! What did you do last year? What will you do this year? The shofar also expresses feelings that cannot be put into words: feelings of wanting to change and being excited by the chance to do so, but also of being afraid of changing. Like a baby’s cry that proclaims new life, the shofar may be the cry of the new self that is born on Rosh Hashanah.” (The Family Treasury Of The Jewish Holiday by Malka Druker, Illustrated by Nancy Patz)
There are several YouTube examples of shofar blowing for you to listen to.
Send Greeting Cards - Starting before Rosh Hashanah and all the way through Yom Kippur, the custom is to send greeting cards to family members and friends to recognize them and thank them for the roles they play in our lives.
Pesach 2026 with Orit Tabachnik
Partners in Creation
Spring is all about renewal, and the Passover rituals are there to show us how to renew our lives.
In preparation for the Passover holiday, we are instructed to do a major cleaning - time to clear the chametz. Whether it’s grains of wheat or sour (chametz) ways of thinking or behaving, the assignment makes us pay close attention to every aspect of our lives. It is time to make room. Spring is here, and we want to clear any form of stagnation and organize our surroundings in a way that will support us to get ready for the tasks ahead of us.
Then all the way from Passover to Shavuot, we do an internal cleansing. We prepare our soul for receiving the Torah (part of the meaning of the word Torah is ho-ra-ah: to teach or to instruct). We are getting ready to receive instructions. For 49 days, we count the Omer, Sfirat Ha Omer, and examine which character traits need some modification in order to be ready/capable of receiving the Torah. I believe that even today when we manage to make room and quiet our minds, we prime ourselves to more clearly hear instructions regarding the best way to live our lives.
You’ve all heard the expression Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. No one can do it alone. The Torah and the Jewish holidays show us how to shed the things that hold us back and get ready for our personal assignments. They guide us to become engaged partners in the creation of the world we want to live in. Whether we do something big, small, or even minute is totally up to us. The important thing is that we all participate.
This cleansing process is here to support us. Yet if just the thought of it overwhelms you, it’s important to remember that every effort counts. If you just clear out one small thing, Dayenu. One small step usually leads to another small step and before you know it, you’ve opened the passageway for new things to enter your life.
Whether you clear a space or let go of that grudge you’ve been holding, you are making the room necessary for this renewal.
Be-hats-la-cha.
Judaism is a dynamic faith
It is not some old scripture that collects dust on the shelves, but rather a wealth of wisdom that can be put into action and serve us on a daily basis. The Jewish perspective calls for questioning, learning, and growing from every experience we, and our ancestors, have.
Often in life, we can’t see the big picture. We don’t understand what our experiences are preparing us to be. What do we need to overcome in order to be strong and capable of the task ahead of us? What sensitivity do we need to develop? What strength and sensitivity are required to reach our goal? Every day experiences that take place seemingly at random are our training field for the purpose we intended to accomplish.
At the Passover Seder, we are instructed to relive the experience of coming out of Egypt, and to question what it means to be a free person. I believe that the answer to this question is slightly different from person to person. The Mussar movement talks a lot about the personal curriculum, which says that we aren’t all placed on this earth for the same purpose or the same lesson. Where one person needs to pull themself together and be more proactive about their life affairs, another needs to slow down and take a break from all that they are doing. One person needs to learn to listen more, another person may need to speak up for themselves to show that they value who they are. Some people would benefit from sharing more of their time, attention, or finances whereas others would benefit from being more mindful and restricting their tendency to constantly give their resources away. And of course, at different times in our lives, different actions are called for. These Passover rituals allow us to question what we are doing now and encourage us to try something new.
As we read the Haggadah, with each cup of wine, we will focus on a different aspect of what it means to be a free person.
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Who is responsible for liberating us?
When the Israelites were about to cross the Red Sea, the water was in front of them, the Egyptians were behind them, and they were crying for help. But it was only after Nachshon took a leap of faith and stepped into the gushing water that the Red Sea parted. This story teaches us the lesson that it’s up to us to do whatever we can to overcome our Maitzarim (limitations, a narrow place, a place where we are stuck). No one is going to save us if we don’t take an active role. Each one of us needs to take the initiative to break through our own Maitzarim. Sometimes our Maitzarim are in the way we approach or think about our challenges. Other times they are habits that we acquire along the way that no longer serve us. What are your Maitzarim? We can’t figure out how to liberate ourselves until we figure out the things that are in our way.
2. We have a mighty Partner on this path.
The Haggadah instructs us “In every generation, even today, everyone must feel as if Hashem personally took him or her out of Egypt and freed him or her from being a slave. It is not only our ancestors who were enslaved, but Hashem brought us out of Egypt,” and Hashem keeps doing it at every moment of our lives. Sometimes, we are so caught up in the story of all the things that did or didn’t happen to us that we can’t move forward and live in the present moment. We don't see the daily miracles on our path. The Passover story tells us that with just our own willpower, we are unable to be completely free. Only when we draw strength from the source of all things do we have what it takes to overcome our shortcomings and limitations. Recall a Hashgacha Pratit (personal miracle) that took place for you recently.
A Jewish proverb declares, “Open a hole as tiny as the point of a needle, and I will open the whole world for you.” We are not alone in our endeavor. There is a force far beyond our capacity to understand that is longing to join our team and support us (Ha -Tov Ve- Ha Me Tiv / the good and the benefactor). Our role is to make room for it. Passover preparations and all the rituals up to Shavuot can guide us on how to make room.
Psalm 93
G-d acts within every moment
And creates the world with each breath.
G-d speaks from the center of the universe,
In the silence beyond all thought.
Mightier than the crash of the thunderstorm,
Mightier than the roar of the sea,
Is G-d’s voice silently speaking
In the depths of the listening heart.
- Stephen Mitchell (trans)
Nachson Minyan Prayer Book
3. The things that give our lives purpose and meaning.
When we are not engaged in activities that feed our souls, we may find that acquiring money, stability, and social status can leave us feeling drained and empty. On the other hand, when we do things that we are truly passionate about, usually they involve helping or supporting others, we find that they give our lives purpose and meaning. This may or may not be the work you do for a living. These are things that are in your heart, that you feel called to do. Those things inspire us, help us overcome challenges when they arise, and give us the energy to carry on. What are the things that feed your soul?
4. Does freedom mean doing what I want when I want or acting within boundaries?
“Never take freedom for granted. It needs a hundred small acts of self-control daily, which is what halakha, Jewish law, is all about. - Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Judaism’s Life-Changing Ideas, pg. 75. Many of the laws that are in Judaism that seem so restricting are there to help us feel more secure and free, and to assist us with our tasks here on earth. What boundaries, disciplines or routines could serve you on your personal path?
A free person knows how to adapt to changes, get organized and disciplined when needed, and also how to unwind, rest, and make room for new things to emerge. A free person knows how to pause between stimulus and action.
In her book, I’ve Been Thinking, Maria Shriver wrote about The Power of the Pause (pg. 39):
As everybody else is rushing around, like a lunatic out there, I dare you to do the opposite. I dare you to pause. Pausing allows you to take a breath in your life.
I am asking all of us to learn how to pause—-especially now, because while I believe the state of our communication (our lives) is out of control, I also believe the power of the pause gives us the opportunity to fix it.
What does a pause look like in your life? Is it journaling, taking a hike, doing arts or crafts, meditating...? Keeping the Shabbat is a weekly practice in pausing. Stopping everything we do once a week is the hardest thing to do. Yet, when we manage to slow down and quiet the busyness of our mind/life, we give ourselves a chance to capture the whisper Hashem sends our way.
May you all be blessed with a listening heart.
May you follow the whisper that is meant especially for you.
May you learn to pause and free yourself and others from the chaos that surrounds us.
May you gain clarity and understanding of your purpose in this world.
May you awaken to the possibilities that are right in front of you.
May you do your share to make this world a place where everyone can thrive.
May you find joy in all that you do.
Amen ken ye-he Ra-tson
Have a happy, meaningful Pesach Seder,
Orit Tabachnik
