A Tone Meant

Epilogue

Restoring the (Recitation of) Korbanot

Pressed for time, people often skip reciting the korbanot section of the morning prayers. With the High Holidays approaching, Judah Kerbel makes the case that the korbanot are far more central and halakhically significant to our prayers than we often realize.

Why Wasn’t Jonah Punished? Reading Jonah during COVID

This year, instead of thinking about the reasons for Jonah’s flight from Nineveh in particular, we can gain a new appreciation for his need to break free altogether. Ahead of Yom Kippur, Erica Brown considers the unique resonance of the book of Jonah in an era marked by isolation and quarantine.

“Looking for a Havvayah” A Genealogy of “Experience” on the High Holy Days

With the Yamim Noraim approaching, Avinoam Stillman analyzes Ḥavvayah, “experience,” in the thought of A.D. Gordon.

‘May Memories Rise’- On the Meaning of ‘Ya’aleh ve-Yavo’

Ben Lorber reflects on the meaning of ya'aleh ve-yavo.

Reish Lakish and Rabbi Yohanan on the Power of Repentance: A Reappraisal

How does Reish Lakish’s classic view of repentance help to account for the tragic dissolution of his relationship with Rabbi Yohanan?

Prayerful Poetry: A Translators’ Battle that Spanned the Atlantic

Yosef Lindell recounts the controversy surrounding different attempts at translating the Tishrei prayers.

Teshuvah, From the (Dis)comfort of Your Own Home

After six months suspended between quarantine, isolation, and uncertainty, it’s natural to want to run away from home, especially as Yom Kippur looms and we realize it’s time for a change. But, as Matthew Nitzanim explains, this understandable reaction would miss the point of Teshuvah: everything we need to work on is right here, wherever it is we find ourselves.

Wake Up Sleeping One! Yehudah Ha-Levi’s Dramatic Use of Genre and Narrative Voice in...

Yaakov Jaffe examines Yehudah Ha-Levi's High Holiday poem "Yashen, Al Teradam"

These Days

A new poem by Hannah Butcher-Stell, for the Days of Awe.

A Life Worth Living

As Yom Kippur approaches, Bruce Black's poem touches on the simple power of a humble and earnest request for forgiveness.