The High Holy Days are framed by powerful Torah readings—narratives that ask us to wrestle with beginnings, tests of faith, ritual, community, and the meaning of holiness. In this two-part Elul series, we’ll dive into the iconic Torah
texts of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Why these stories? What do they reveal about how we return, renew, and repair?
Session 1: In the Beginning, A Test
Saturday, August 30
Creation and the Binding of Isaac—Rosh Hashanah’s Torah stories and the tensions they hold. What does it mean to begin again? What does faith require of us?
Session 2: A Tale of Three Readings
Saturday, September 13
Leviticus 16, Nitzavim, and Leviticus 19—how the Yom Kippur Torah readings move us from sacrifice to covenant to ethical holiness, and why the Reform movement changed what we read.