"Judaism is all about life – love of life, reverence for life, building new life. But life also brings death. The pessimist says, “You begin dying the moment you are born,” not only referring to the steady decline of our own lives but also the universe around us. We consume resources to clothe, feed, educate, and protect; we use up animals, plants, water and air as we spiral along the continuum from birth to death.

"‘Tuesdays With Morrie’ author reminds us to live life and worry less about keeping time. I have a feeling that author Mitch Albom timed the release of his new book, ‘The Timekeeper,’ to coincide with the Jewish High Holy Days. This work of fiction forces us to consider the meaning of time and why it is not good for humans to try to control it.

"Who doesn’t need a second chance? Each of us has something we wish we could do over, start fresh or finish differently. Don’t you? Well, Rosh HaShanah is your opportunity. At its core, Rosh HaShanah promises us that we can transcend the past and get that second chance that each of us needs in at least some part of our lives..."

Michael Stock interviews Irwin Kula in anticipation of the September 9th American Jewish New Year performance. Rabbi Kula speaks about religion in 21st century north America and asks the question: Does your religion help you flourish in your life?

Listen...

Folk and Acoustic Music with Michael Stock, WLRN (Public Radio, Miami-Dade)

"Rabbi Owen Gottlieb believes that the future of Jewish education is in games — both video and analog, like card and board games. Gottlieb, 38, is a doctoral candidate in education and Jewish studies at New York University and is the director and founder of ConverJent, which designs and develops games for Jewish learning and is incubated at Clal...When asked about the video games he’d like to see, he said: ‘I hope to spread the practice of hevruta, the study of sacred text in pairs,

You deserve a second chance, even if it's your hundredth one.

This Rosh Hashanah give yourself that next second chance, and perhaps even offer one to others in your life.

Download the Rosh Hashanah Card as a .pdf file

"When you’re celebrating a new year, whether that’s a secular year or a spiritual year, you have to look back a little bit and try to ask, ‘What is it that we need most right now in order to make the best of the year to come?’ I think there are two themes I think I’ll be weaving through. One is that there is a lot of pain in this society. And we need more compassion. And we need more hope. And we need more experiences of joy that we share with each other. So I’m going to be nurturing compassion and hope on one side.

"What do you get when you have the grandson of a great Ashkenazi traditional cantor mentored by subway-playing Carolina Slim, a South Carolina Piedmont Blues guitarist and singer known for rich harmonies and polyrhythmic, fingerpicking guitar patterns, accompanied by a rabbi-in-residence? You get Jeremiah Lockwood and Rabbi Dan Ain conducting this season’s High Holiday services at the 92YTribeca, 92Y’s Downtown arts and culture venue at 200 Hudson St....quot;

"Get Jewish cantors to huddle with Duke Ellington and Louie Armstrong. What would they come up with?
Maybe something like ‘Jazz Wisdom Spirit,’ a concert planned for Sept. 9 in Delray Beach. Created by a rabbi and a music professor, the concert will set cantorial music and prayers to early jazz...The ‘wisdom’ part of the concert will feature Aaron's brother, Rabbi Irwin Kula

"A few months ago, a young Orthodox rabbi decided to “come out of the closet,” in a sense, when he publicly identified himself as an “LGBT ally,” referring to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, founder of Uri L’Tzedek, an Orthodox social justice group, and a director of the UCLA Hillel, explained that he felt he had been quiet for too long and wanted to say what he felt was the truth..."