Rosh Hashanah Roundup

Not in Heaven · Sep 18, 2025 · 39m

Even for the least religiously involved Jews, the High Holidays are a high point—and sometimes the only point—of organized Jewish engagement.

For many families, it may be the only time in a year they step inside a synagogue or participate in a prayer service. A time for re-upping their membership in the Jewish collective, returning to the same well of tradition: the same tunes, buildings and prayer books that they remember from sitting with their parents and their parents’ parents.

But, ironically, for the people most passionate about Jewish spiritual life—those who have devoted their careers…