5781 High Holiday Reader

In most years, TRADITION’s intrepid associate editor, Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, prepares a High Holiday Reader with thought-provoking articles for his community, Shaarei Shomayim of Toronto. This year’s issue includes articles from the archives of TRADITION relating to the themes of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

To assist those around the world who will not have a “regular” High Holiday experience this year, R. Strauchler is sharing the Reader more broadly. A synagogue community enriches our lives with prayer, thought, and conversation – both when we are physically together and when we are not. We hope you will download this file and use it to facilitate meaningful conversations with your family and your friends.

In most years, we might proceed through life on autopilot. The shofar stirs us and awakens us, as famously described by Maimonides (Teshuva 3:4). In the midst of a pandemic, we are pre-stirred. We are awake to the opportunities that disturbance creates to reevaluate our priorities and to reset the course of our life’s journeys. Teshuva is the loadstar of the intentional life. May these articles on Teshuva help us more fully engage in the conscious project of ongoing self-creation. This Reader also includes content relating to freedom of thought and some of the challenges within modern culture. It concludes with a series of articles that speak to how we find meaning in the face of crisis. From all of us at TRADITION, we wish you a happy and healthy sweet new year – Shana Tova.

UPDATE: The PDF has been reformatted for ease of printing and improved legibility.

[Published on September 8, 2020]