Yom Kippur is a day of Divine forgiveness. If we have done the work we need to do, the Torah tells us, “On this day he will atone for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins, before the Lord you will be cleansed” (Leviticus 16:30). But what is that work that we must do?

We spend almost a month and a half preparing for Yom Kippur, yet if recognizing our precarious situation in this world is a prerequisite to feeling on this day, Yom Kippur can be overwhelming and discouraging.How does one avoid that?

My family is looking forward to Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) this year, for the apples and honey, celebrating with friends and family, and delicious brisket dinner. The holiday starts this year on Sunday evening, Sept. 9, and goes until Tuesday, Sept. 11. Ever wonder why they begin the holiday at night, rather than on the next morning?

Picture this scene: It’s 1944, and a band of SS soldiers have overtaken a small village on a hill in occupied France. U.S. General George Patton has them surrounded and is about to order a frontal assault led by 27 very impressive Sherman tanks.

On a holiday when many Jewish communities focus on unity, one community event this past Tisha B’Av sought to emphasize the need for more debate. “Machloket Matters” was the title of a Beltway Vaad-sponsored learning program, featuring rabbis and educators who taught texts highlighting the important role of healthy machloket (disagreement or debate) in Jewish life.

A child’s first breath is as much a miracle for us as it is for the baby. After nine months, oxygen, which previously flowed through the fetus’s veins from the mother’s own blood, now has to be processed by an untested lung — an organ needing such precision and systems coordination that it would put the skills of a NASA technician to shame.

Difficult choices are something we tend to run away from. It looks great on TV, but who wants that kind of pressure? This presents us with a paradox:The more we limit life by removing the choices, the more boring, repetitive, and meaningless life gets. On the other hand, the more we confront difficult decisions, the more exciting life is — but the more pressure it has.

“How could G-d have asked Abraham to sacrifice his son? What kind of father could Abraham be to go along with such a request?” These are the questions we hear after services on Rosh Hashanah. People are incredulous that a loving G-d would ask any father, much less one he has singled out as the leader of his chosen people, to take the life of his adored child.

The next time you sit down to eat a nice salad, give a little thought to the poor cows. Day in, day out, all they eat is plain old grass.

Imagine a grass diet 365 days a year. Some days it’s wet, some days it’s dry. No dressing, no salt, just grass. After a while, all that grass can really get to you. Most of the world’s animals get along perfectly fine on a simple and consistent diet. But not man.

On July 25, Rabbi Kenneth Brander fulfilled a lifelong dream of making aliyah (moving to Israel). And just in time — the former Yeshiva University vice president, dean of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future, rabbi emeritus of the Boca Raton Synagogue, and founder of the Katz Yeshiva High School is the newly-minted president and rosh yeshiva (head of school) of Ohr Torah Stone (OTS).