Rosh Hashanah Stories

Since we don't use electronics on Jewish holidays, we couldn’t look up the address. To make matters worse, I had never actually blown the shofar before.

My neighbor announced that the following night would be Rosh Hashanah. Though I knew little of its significance, when he proposed that we all walk together to a synagogue, I agreed to join the group

“I need a rabbi! Help me! I need a rabbi right now!!” The shocking, ear-splitting cry shattered the stillness in the synagogue.

Young Meir noticed that with each passing day his grandfather grew more and more depressed. “How will we blow the shofar?” cried the Rebbe.

How the son-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov ended up on a remote island and accomplished something very important

He took the ram’s horn to his lips, ready to blow. Yet, try as he might, not a sound issued from the horn.

A rich description of the holiday of Rosh Hashanah 5660 (1899) as it was celebrated in the town of Lubavitch. The writer was a young student who found himself in a world he had never known existed.

He’s refused to eat for the past four weeks. The doctors say that his organs are starting to shut down . . .

A King had an only son, the apple of his eye. The King wanted his son to master different fields of knowledge and to experience various cultures, so he sent him to a far-off country...

Who crowns G-d as king? And what emotion should this elicit. A contemporary Jewish leader shares a moving childhood memory...

Finally, the great moment arrived. It was the morning of Rosh Hashanah, and Rabbi Ze’ev stood on the reading platform in the center of the Baal Shem Tov’s synagogue amidst the Torah scrolls, surrounded by a sea of tallit-draped bodies.

The sexton returned to see what was happening, and when he arrived he saw the gentile standing in the vestibule crying bitterly. “Why are you crying? the sexton asked...

After a month of determined journeying, the elders of Obmah reached the deep caves of Igsirous, the last bastion of loyalty to King Avmal remaining in the kingdom...

It was obvious that G‑d was there in the room. Because she was talking to Him.

I feel as if I am on another planet, a different dimension. For the first time in a long time, I truly feel Rosh Hashanah

After all these years, I may be less sensitive to your wants and wishes. My guard is down; my words and actions no longer reflect the nuances of care they once did. But you, too, don't give yourself as freely as in the olden days...

OK, that’s the law; but where is the inspiration? Where is the majesty? How can we hear a silent shofar?

"Today is the day before Rosh Hashanah," his Zeide explained. "Today we do not blow Shofar. Tomorrow morning, we will blow the shofar in shul." The child did not comprehend the reasons. He kicked and screamed, telling his Zeide, "One more blast! One more blast!"

He ran to the nearest hut and set fire to its straw roof. The fire began to spread very quickly. “Don’t be alarmed!” cried the lad. “Now watch me.”

"Give with an open hand," Rabbi Shimon adjured. "Don't worry about tomorrow, G-d will provide. And most important: write it all down. Every penny you give, write it down and carry the list with you at all times..."

The High Holidays in Samarkand were an experience unto themselves. The people of the community grew introspective, as each individual tried to improve on his or her own religious observance and focus less on material pursuits. One could sense that the Days of Awe were approaching.

"When the duke responded with a showering of compliments, I hardly believed my good fortune."

It so happened that as I opened the stairwell door on one of the floors, I found myself in the ICU Unit . . .