Fwd: Judgment and Understanding; Making Space for Everyone; Mental Health Guide for Rosh Hashanah

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From: Shabbat Shalom <shabbatshalom@ounetwork.org>
Date: Thu, Sep 18, 2025, 5:54 PM
Subject: Judgment and Understanding; Making Space for Everyone; Mental Health Guide for Rosh Hashanah
To: <agentemes4@gmail.com>

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Plus: Exploring the Mitzvot and Minhagim of Rosh Hashanah PARSHAT NITZAVIM September 19-20, 2025 / 27 Elul 5785   SPECIAL DAYS Rosh Hashanah begins Monday night, September 22, and is celebrated through Wednesday, September 24. Tzom Gedaliah is observed on Thursday, September 25.  FEATURED Rosh Hashanah: Judgment and Understanding Rosh Hashanah is marked by Jews everywhere as the Day of Judgment, when God considers and weighs the vice and virtue of every individual and nation, and of the world. In the wake of a year of unrelenting intensity surrounding Israel and the Jewish people, I find that deeply comforting.   To be sure, it will not be easy, as standing before the all-knowing God must prompt serious reflection. We dare not insist on the virtue of all our choices, individual or national. Rather, we must honestly and humbly engage in the transformational process of teshuvah that Jewish tradition prescribes during this period – evaluating our actions, challenging our assumptions, identifying our failures, committing to radical change, if called for, and addressing areas needing improvement. We have made mistakes, and we must ask forgiveness of man and God. Read Rabbi Hauer's latest Op-Ed in JNS Torah Yerushalayim 5785 OU Israel This week, OU Israel held its annual Torah Yerushalayim leil iyun, featuring a special tribute shiur reflecting on the legacy of Rabbi Berel Wein, zt"l, given by Rabbi Joel Kenigsberg. Watch the Tribute Shiur Watch All Shiurim Exploring the Mitzvot and Minhagim of Rosh Hashanah How are apples, pomegranates, and shofar blasts supposed to impact our Rosh Hashanah? Join Director of Torah and Halacha Initiatives Rabbi Ezra Sarna as he dives into the mitzvot and minhagim of Rosh Hashanah and how they help set the tone for the new year. Watch Now  AROUND THE OU Are Pig Organ Transplants Prohibited for Jews? Our EVP Rabbi Moshe Hauer weighs in on this topic in a recent New York Times article, "Pig Organ Transplants May Pose a Dilemma for Some Jews and Muslims," by Roni Caryn Rabin. Read in the New York Times Teach Coalition Maximizing Federal Tax Credit Scholarships "For a family struggling to pay their bills, the ECCA scholarship program could make a real difference." Teach Coalition's National Director, Sydney Altfield, responds to a Washington Post article about the prohibitively high cost of school supplies – and the potential for ECCA to provide relief to families. Read in the Washington Post Kol Echad Seen and Remembered: Making Space for Everyone This Yom Tov Season As many families excitedly look forward to the Yomim Tovim, many can feel left out. On the Talking Away the Taboo podcast, Dr. Aimee Baron speaks with Rabbi Yisrael Motzen, director of Kol Echad, about ensuring no one is overlooked in our communities. Listen on Spotify OU Advocacy OU Advocacy Meets US Secretary of Education and Key Lawmakers OU Advocacy and lay leaders met with Education Secretary Linda McMahon in DC. They pressed for more change tackling antisemitism at universities and discussed the recently passed school choice legislation. Read in the Jewish Insider OU Women's Initiative Tishrei Essay Collection Sign up to receive a printable PDF of the OU Women's Initiative's Tishrei Essay Collection. This year's booklet will explore the theme of relationships – how we connect with Hashem, with others, with ourselves, and with the physical world around us. Sign Up Now NCSY NCSY Summer 2026 Starts Now After an inspiring summer 2025 with over 1,800 teens – including nearly 1,100 in Israel – applications are now open for summer 2026. NCSY Summer programs go beyond trips, immersing teens in Torah, leadership, and the land of Israel, shaping their Jewish identities and futures. With dozens of programs, there's something for every teen. Apply Today OU-JLIC A Decade-Long Tradition of Gratitude On 9/11, JLIC campuses across the East Coast paid tribute to the day's fallen heroes by delivering hundreds of breakfasts to over 2,000 first responders, each accompanied by messages of hakarat hatov. Now in its tenth year, this annual initiative reached its widest impact yet, with more than 250 students from ten JLIC campuses participating. Read More Jewish Action Return to Wholeness: A Mental Health Guide for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Teshuvah is deeply therapeutic. It invites us to pause, to be honest, and to repair what's frayed – whether in our relationships, in our connections to Hashem, or in our internal emotional worlds. Ariel Rose Goldstein, a licensed social worker, trauma therapist, and writer, shares her views on something rarely discussed on the High Holidays: mental health. Read More 18Forty Learning to Forgive My Mother In this episode of the 18Forty podcast, Gayle Kirschenbaum – author of Bullied to Besties: A Daughter's Journey to Forgiveness – speaks about how she repaired her fraught relationship with her mother. Listen on the 18Forty Podcast  UPCOMING EVENTS OU Women's Initiative A Global Lech Knos Experience with Mrs. Slovie Jungreis-Wolff Thursday, September 25, at 12 pm EDT Register Now Halacha Initiatives Third Annual City Eruv Conference Sunday, November 16, and Monday, November 17, in Edison, NJ Register Now  TORAH L'Kadsho Crossing the Street on Shabbos When you step into the street, you cause drivers to slow down and stop. Is this a problem on Shabbos? Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz investigates! Plus… Rabbi Shmuel Silber on the melacha of zoreh, and more! Crossing the Street on Shabbos – Listen Now More on L'Kadsho Rabbi Moshe Hauer Davening with Hashem Prayer is hard. How do I address an invisible abstraction? How can I get into my davening if I am reading the same script over and over again, day after day, multiple times a day? Read More Rabbi Menachem Genack One Hundred for One Hundred Rashi explains why parshat Nitzavim immediately follows the curses of Ki Tavo. Perhaps this can also explain why we blow one hundred shofar blasts on Rosh Hashanah. Read in Hebrew Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman Silent No More In this week's haftorah, Tzion is paired with Yerushalayim. They are one place, yet each word carries its own meaning and dimension. Read More Rabbi Haim Jachter