Dreaming Up High Holy Days


Rabbi Joshua Lesser (RRC ‘99) has had a front seat to one of the most joyful spots of our tragic time. With a group of Jewish leaders from different movements and perspectives, he helped create a Facebook group called “Dreaming Up High Holy Days 2020”.
Asked about the project, Rabbi Lesser says, “People ask me how I can so hopeful about the Jewish future. I am hopeful because I am Reconstructionist and I was trained that hope is not something you have, but something you create. Believing that Jewish life evolves as a part of survival, I am grateful that our perspective empowers us to envision the future and to be part of the change, not just a passive recipient. If people like Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan are your models, when there is an opportunity for creating something that supports the greater good, you seize it. That’s what I did in creating this forum for all Jewish leaders to envision High Holy Days in a pandemic. The communal participation is what is truly hopeful.”
He writes about the project and its rich and creative outcomes in a September 8 piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.