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Five areas come to mind that I would like to cover in answering the question, "What does it mean to be a Jew?" - Shabbat; Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; Tanach; Talmud, Mishneh and Gemara (Oral Torah); and (largely related to the US response to secular Christmas) Hanukkah. I will cover each in turn.

SHABBAT The sacred day of rest, Friday sundown until Saturday sundown, deriving from Genesis and Ha'Shem's resting on the Seventh Day of Creation. Shabbat provides a routine of sacred ritual and observance once a week. For me, it is a time to separate (related to the Hebrew, Kodesh, Holy) not only from the secular, but also from the daily grind; from the inundation of information, tasks, chores, bills, commerce, media; from my own personal concerns. Shabbat allows connection to communityfor me, most often through Torah Study at Temple Israel (and, when in Tzfat, with David Friedman), but also through time with family and friends. Shabbat allows connection to the sacred, to the Universal, to Ha'Shemagain through Torah Study, but also through the act of Kodesh, separation. It reminds me to step out of myself, my daily life, and to enter into engagement with that which is holy, sacred. Here is a poem I wrote about Shabbat several years ago, after reading about the Shekinah during my Shabbat studying:

Shabbat Shalom
Last night I studied Shekinah until the Shabbat candles flared out;
rain and thunder sang and drummed along.
Waking later, the moon spreading out through clouds

The moon has awakened me before, and I have called to the wind
to wake up, to see, to hear my words;
as though I had something to say.

Tonight I sing a song given by rocks, who share their bright passion,
their secret of time from creation, their love for the world
in exchange for an embrace of light.
August 8, 1998

ROSH HASHANAH AND YOM KUPPUR High Holy Days marking the beginning of the year (Rosh Hashanah = head of the year) and the Day of Atonement (10th Day of the Seventh Month). The Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur provide Jews the opportunity through word and deed to make up for wrongs done to other humans, to heal interpersonal wounds and thus personal wounds, and to return (T'shuva) to Ha'Shem. Yom Kippur allows us, if we make change through thought, word, and deed, to begin life anew, our names re-entered into the Book of Life for another year.

The double Torah portion Achorei and Kedoshim provides imagery of the two acts necessary for atonement through the two sacrificed goats. By lot,

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