Daily Devotionals

His question was really, “Where are you spiritually? Have you noticed that you have strayed from me?”

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews seek, and receive, atonement from God for those sins committed against Him. It is a day of purification and reconciliation.

We will rise again—we will regret our mistakes and reaffirm our commitment to be better—and that’s what matters most.

The answer is because when we give charity, we take the faith that is in our hearts and in our mouths and make it real by putting it into action.

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, we dedicate an entire day to remembering who we really are, what our purpose is in the world, and asking God to forgive us for our past mistakes.

Through this action, we are, in essence, casting off our sins into the water and beginning life anew. It is symbolic of the freedom from sin we can enjoy when we repent.

The three ways of blowing the shofar symbolize the three messages of the trumpet that we are meant to understand on the days on which it is blown.

Our Shepherd knows us. He created us, and He understands our frailties and our inclination toward sinfulness.

His question was really, “Where are you spiritually? Have you noticed that you have strayed from me?”

The promise of the High Holy Days is that God can wipe the slate clean and we can have a fresh start. But first, we must take responsibility and make amends for our past.

What we choose to focus on—our thoughts—is like planting seeds of good thoughts. What we sow is what we will grow.

It all depends on how we view it. We can let the waves beat us to the ground, or we can choose to ride the waves of faith.