Sukkot Blessings

This article has been reprinted with permission from InterfaithFamily

For those looking for a quick, easy reference to guide them through the home (and in the sukkah) ritual blessings for Sukkot, this resource is for you!

Our handy Sukkot Blessings, in an easy-to-print PDF format, includes the customary prayers said in the sukkah and when we shake the lulav, all in Hebrew and transliteration, with traditional and alternative translations as well.

Not sure how to pronounce the Hebrew? Read along, in transliteration or in Hebrew, and listen to each blessing:


You can also watch this video on how to shake to lulav:

SORRY: The Hardest, And Perhaps Most Powerful, Word

by Rabbi Robyn Frisch. This article has been reprinted with permission from InterfaithFamily

One of my favorite children’s books for Yom Kippur is Jacqueline Jules’ The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story. It’s about the Ziz, an enormous bird with dark red wings and a purple forehead. The Ziz’s giant wings are always knocking things over. One day, after the Ziz mistakenly knocks over a big tree with his wings and the tree then knocks over another tree, which smashes a children’s vegetable garden, the Ziz goes to God and asks God how he can make things better.

God instructs the Ziz to search the earth and bring back “the hardest word.” The Ziz stretches out his big red wings and goes off to search, coming back to God over one hundred times with a variety of words. Each time God sends the Ziz back out, insisting that there is still a harder word.

Finally, the Ziz, discouraged, flies back for one last discussion with God:

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Help! Will My Grandchildren Be Catholic?

The Seesaw for The Jewish Daily Forward

My daughter just got engaged to a Catholic man. He is a fine gentleman, extremely respectful, and we get along well. She recently let us know that after a long discussion she accepted his request that their future children be raised Catholic. She herself will remain a Jew and they will join our family for the important Jewish holidays, along with the occasional Shabbat dinner.

She indicated that if she didn’t accept the children being raised Catholic the engagement would more than likely not happen. It was a deal breaker for him and his religious family. My daughter had hoped that the children, as my wife and I hoped, would be raised interfaith. We are not very observant, but have a strong Jewish identity that means a lot to us.

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High Holy Days: the Basics

This article has been reprinted with permission from InterfaithFamily

Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), together, are known as the High Holy Days (or High Holidays).

For many, this is the only time of the year we go to synagogue. For others, it's a chance to reflect, take stock of the past year and make amends. It's a holiday season that is rich in symbols, like the shofar or apples dipped in honey.

This booklet, High Holy Days: the Basics, explains the Days of Awe, starting with Rosh Hashanah and running through Yom Kippur, including what to expect at synagogue services, what the home celebrations may look like and concluding with a glossary of useful terms.

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Check out Jvillage’s High Holiday+    page.