ROSH HASHANAH
You want to connect to Rosh Hashanah this year.
We're here to help.
With Aleph Beta’s animated videos, delightful podcasts, and easy-to-read printable guides, it’s easy and fun to show up for Rosh Hashanah feeling spiritually prepared.
Our Favorite Videos for Rosh Hashanah
High Holidays: Just How Guilty Should I Feel? (Parts 1 & 2)
Rabbi David Fohrman - 2 episodes - 32 min video
The High Holidays should be a time of introspection, but it often feels like we're so overwhelmed by our own guilt, by the idea of coming to terms with ourselves, that we don't know where to start.In this course, Rabbi Fohrman takes a deeper look at what are the 13 Attributes of Mercy and uncovers a path to finding true forgiveness during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.Discover other great videos for the High Holidays at Aleph Beta, including ‘Unetaneh Tokef Interpretation & Meaning”, “What Is The Meaning and Purpose of Yom Kippur” and If Jonah Never Really Repented, Why Do We Read His Story On Yom Kippur?
Rosh Hashanah as a Day of Judgment
Rabbi David Fohrman - 9 min video
The special prayers recited on Rosh Hashanah are divided into 3 sections: Malchuyot, verses that describe God’s kingship, Zichronot, verses that describe fond remembrances that God has of the people of Israel, and Shofrot, verses that reference the shofar.In this video, Rabbi Fohrman takes a closer look at the Malchuyot prayers, in order to better understand how Rosh Hashanah came to be known as a day of judgement.
Teshuvah: Is There a Wrong Way to Repent?
Rabbi David Fohrman - 8 min video
Teshuvah (repentance), is an emotional and deeply personal process. Yet, Judaism has numerous laws for exactly how we’re supposed to repent, including a specific process of confession. How does this make sense? Can there really be a “right” and “wrong” way to repent?
How Do I Get Closer To God?
Rabbi David Fohrman - 4 episodes - 38 min video
How can I attain closeness with a God who is so beyond my comprehension? And why would the Creator of the Universe care about my prayers? Is God even listening?
Spiritual Preparation For Rosh Hashanah
Immanuel Shalev - 10 episodes - 109 min video
A Guide For Rosh HashanahWith just 5 minutes a day, you'll be ready to show up on Rosh Hashanah feeling prepared. We’ll talk about prayer, how to understand davening, why we blow the shofar, how to leave behind all the guilt of Rosh Hashanah, and why this holiday is absolutely worth celebrating.
The Tree Of Life Vs The Tree Of Knowledge
Rabbi David Fohrman - 8 episodes - 514 min video
Knowing Good and EvilWhat does it mean for us to recognize God as our King, Master of the universe? In this series, Rabbi Fohrman examines the early chapters of Genesis to discover just what God's mastery is all about – and what it really means to recognize it.Discover other great Rosh Hashanah videos at Aleph Beta, including ‘How To Prepare For Rosh Hashana”, “How To Do Teshuva”. and “Akeidah: The Story Of Abraham & Isaac”
HIGH HOLIDAY READER
Prefer to Read?
Print this High Holiday Reader
Our High Holiday Reader is the printable PDF that you want to have in hand when the High Holidays begin. Essays, meditations, kids’ activities, and powerful reflections on prayer, teshuva, and getting closer to God.
Let us introduce ourselves
Not just a library to watch —
a different relationship with the text
Rabbi Fohrman
Our lead scholar
Rabbi David Fohrman is the founder and lead scholar at Aleph Beta. Over the last two decades, he’s pioneered a way of reading Biblical text that feels both rigorous and revelatory. Through Aleph Beta, he’s given expression to that, developing what is now a vast library of content, spanning all types of media: animated videos, podcasts and books. He’s also embarked on an effort to train a team of Torah scholars adept at the close-reading methodology he’s pioneered – and their work can be found at Aleph Beta, too.
Prior to his founding of Aleph Beta, Rabbi Fohrman served as a senior editor and writer for the ArtScroll Talmud Project. He also taught Biblical themes as adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University, where he had earlier received a Master’s degree in Western intellectual history. Rabbi Fohrman received his rabbinical and Talmudic training at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College, but some of his earliest and most profound exposure to Biblical text analysis came from his encounters with Rabbi Yosef Leibowitz, in his childhood years in Northern California.
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