November is a quiet month on the Jewish calendar. The first half of this month falls during the lunar month of Heshvan, which contains no holidays at all (aside from Shabbat, the holiest day of them all, which returns to enliven us every single week.) And the latter half of November will usher in the lunar month of Kislev, which contains the festival of Chanukah, though we won’t reach Chanukah until early in December.
In between the two funerals in Hayyei Sarah, Avraham sends his servant to find a wife for Yitzhak. The servant prays, “God, whoever shows readiness to care not only for me but for my animals – let that be the person You’ve chosen for Yitzhak.” Sure enough, the girl who lifts her pitcher turns out to be family, which our sages see as the hand of God at work. For me, though, what’s most remarkable isn’t that miracle: it’s that Rivkah’s family asks what she wants, instead of deciding for her.
We made it: the fall holidays are behind us. It’s always a whirlwind: from the Selihot (“Pardons”) havdalah and cemetery service the weekend before Rosh Hashanah, through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, to building the sukkah, and our Sukkot Harvest Moon Potluck and bonfire, and a week of Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret services with Yizkor, all the way to our Simhat Torah celebration with seven joyous songs and the end and beginning of Torah’s story to launch us into the new year. Whew!
Earlier this week I sang El Maleh at the countywide memorial for the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks. I remembered what it felt like to wake up on October 7th three years ago, at the tail end of the long season of Jewish holidays, to the news that kibbutzim were under attack, that a music festival was under attack. The terrible images. The feeling like we couldn’t catch our breath. Sometimes I still feel like I can’t breathe with it.
This is the sermon that Rabbi Rachel Barenblat offered during Yom Kippur 5787 morning service on Monday, September 21, 2026.
This is the sermon that Rabbi Rachel Barenblat offered during Kol Nidre 5787 evening service on Sunday, September 20, 2026.
This is the sermon that Rabbi Rachel Barenblat offered during Rosh Hashanah I 5787 morning service on Saturday, September 12, 2026.
This guest sermon was offered by cantorial soloist Ziva Larson during Erev Rosh Hashanah 5787 evening service on Friday, September 11, 2026.
One of the things we do on Yom Kippur is pray the prayers of Yizkor, the memorial service that takes place four times a year: at Passover (spring), at Shavuot (summer), at Yom Kippur (fall), and at Shemini Atzeret (also fall – a mere 11 days after Yom Kippur).
While I was away on retreat as part of the Clergy Leadership Program with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, an email came into my inbox asking why, as a Reform community, we would postpone tashlich (the ritual of throwing bread into a body of water as we pray for help releasing our mis-steps) until the second day of Rosh Hashanah. After the retreat I wrote back and said: that’s my next newsletter column!
