Sooner or later life will bring us each to the mountaintop of joy and to the pits of despair. And it is at either of these two emotional and spiritual extremes-and every place in between-that our Judaism has ever so much to say.  At these instances, I say, we need to remember how to think inside the box. No greater treasury of "how-to" guidance for the post-modern spirit exists than that third portion of Hebrew Scripture known to us as "The Writings: K'tuvim."

These 13 books, including such literary faith masterpieces as Psalms, Song of Songs, Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes, address every emotional high and low known to human nature. They assure us that even in this uncharted period of mindboggling change and reorientation, we are not alone in facing life at either its best or its worst.

These High Holy Day Sermons respond to the pressing concerns and insecurities engendered by this past year of trial and turmoil for our nation and world at large, and specifically for us as Jews in Israel, America, and around the world.