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Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, falls ten days after Rosh Hashanah. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, the High Priest effected atonement for the entire people through an elaborate ritual. Today, in the absence of the Temple, each of us stands, alone, together, naked as it were, before God. Yom Kippur is the dramatic culmination of the entire season of teshuvah, repentance. On Yom Kippur, Jews abstain from eating, drinking, bathing, sexual relations, and the wearing of leather (a sign of luxury) for 25 hours. Jews dress in white and traditionally spend most of the day in synagogue.

Latest Rituals

A prayer based on traditional texts which address God as Shekhinah

sky over ocean with sea birds at sunset

Adds biblical women to the list of biblical men in this traditional prayer

a person in a white dress with long dark wavy hair stands with eyes closed and hands clasped at the heart in the middle of a field of yellow flowers on a foggy day

An inclusive version of this traditional Selikhot (penitential) prayer

a bright sun and a rainbow overlook a reddish ground with tufts of grass

An addition to the Eyleh Ezkerah martyrology section of the Yom Kippur service, this is a short biography of a learned and accomplished medieval Jewish woman who was murdered during the Crusades

Photo of Heiliger Sand, oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe located in Worms

The masculine hierarchical God-language so prevalent in High Holiday liturgy can be painful and distancing. This article offers suggestions to restore the empowering potential of the High Holidays for those who have felt diminished, uninterested, and/or angered by traditional High Holiday prayer.

clouds blowing across a blue sky

A new version of the traditional prayer using some feminine and non-gendered terms

a throne with red cushions and ornate gold trim

A meditation walk that one can do to prepare to do teshuvah (repentance)

a person with medium length hair and a hat is walking on a path in the forest

Reinterpretation of the idea of casting away sins during Rosh Hashanah

a rattlesnake in the process of shedding its skin

Excerpts from a poem which addresses the feminine aspects of God and the merits of biblical women

person with long hair facing away with black and rainbow kippah blowing shofar

Reflections on Elul, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur

dark clouds against a dark blue sky obscure a bright sun

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

Join author Evonne Marzouk to find ways to strengthen your experience as a spiritual being, expand your consciousness and deepen your ability to be present. Through study and creative writing, you’ll take away new strategies to use in daily life. 

Hope you’ll join us!

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