Atonement and renewal: The High Holy Days as a path to health and happiness

Atonement and renewal: The High Holy Days as a path to health and happiness

Each autumn, as the shofar pierces the air, Jewish communities around the world enter the Days of Awe — ten days of reflection, reconciliation, and renewal stretching from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. These sacred days remind us of our mortality, call us to repair relationships, and invite us to return to our truest selves. We often think of the High Holy Days as exclusively spiritual. But research from psychology and medicine suggests that the …