Simchat Torah is bittersweet. We celebrate the end of the High Holiday season. We feel an immense sense of accomplishment, joy and gratitude for getting to this moment. We unroll the entire Torah and notice its loving embrace, reminding ourselves that the Torah itself begins and ends with acts of Gemilut Hasadim (loving kindness). Hopefully the Torah we learn and teach should help us become kinder, more generous, more empathic and willing to serve. So we dance and sing and ce

By Cantor Melanie Cooperman This Shabbat we begin to celebrate Sukkot — our harvest festival, a season the Torah commands us to mark with joy. V'samachta b'chagecha — "you shall rejoice in your festival" — we build our sukkot, gather the lulav and etrog, and give thanks for abundance. But, how do we rejoice fully when we know that right here in Westchester, so many of our neighbors go without enough to eat? Right here in Westchester, 39% of households are struggling to put f

by Rabbi Daniel Gropper "OUR SAGES TEACH: As soon as the fast of Yom Kippur concludes, pound the first nail into the sukkah! To everything there is a season—a time for prayer and looking inward, a time to go outside and build." This reading is found on page 661 of our Mahzor. It's one of my favorites for the simple reason that it looks past the holiday of Yom Kippur. It looks, with hopeful vision, to what comes after instead of remaining in the dread of the day. Stick with me

By Cantor Melanie Cooperman Rosh Hashanah is filled with memories for all of us — crisp fall days, the taste of apples and honey, and the sound of the shofar. We gather together for Tashlich to cast away the year that was. This year, Erev Rosh Hashanah falls on September 11th — the 25th anniversary of a day that conjures very different memories. Where were you when you heard the news? Who were you with? For so many — especially those who call New York home — that horrible mor