An Elul 5783 teaching by Rabbi Janet Madden

Whenever I teach about ritual or work with people to prepare for a life cycle transition, I always stress that what makes a ritual powerful and effective is the preparation and intention with which we approach the event.  While there is a certain “magic” to liminal moments, we cannot simply show up and experience a transformation.  The same is true for how we experience the holidays of the Jewish year. Not only must we appropriately prepare for each holiday, but we must also consider how we want to connect this year.

This probably isn’t breaking news, but there are plenty of Jews who don’t go to services on Rosh Hashanah for lots of different reasons.