October 2, 2016
Days of Awe: From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur
Joy Gaines-Friedler

Sunset on October 2, 2016 begins Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is also the beginning of The Days of Awe, tens days in which we go inside ourselves to reexamine, contemplate, to ask ourselves what matters to us, who matters, and what is it we have done this year that may have harmed ourselves or others. We are asked to ask forgiveness from others (not G-d) for any harm we may have caused. This is not easy. The Days of Awe are days of wonderment, meditation and introspection that culminate in Yom Kippur – a day of fasting and atonement. May each of us be rewritten into The Book of Life and may we each enjoy a sweet new year.
Bio: Joy Gaines-Friedler teaches poetry and creative writing for non-profits in the Detroit area and throughout Michigan. Her work has taken her, among other places, to The Lapeer Correctional Facility where she works with “lifer” prison inmates, to teaching professional writers, DPS school kids, and mental health care.