A Rabbi’s View on the Eve of the Jewish New Year
As Jews head to High Holy Days services they face extraordinary challenges. It has never been harder to be a Jew in America. Rabbi David Baron shares his thoughts on the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11
This Friday evening, observant Jews will gather to celebrate the High Holy Days, beginning with Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year - followed ten days later by Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - when a person’s fate for the coming year is understood to be sealed.
As is traditional, the arrival of this Jewish New Year of 5787 will be marked by each person reflecting on the past year’s behavior and looking ahead to what the coming year may bring. However, for Jews around the world, especially those in America, this September 11th will include special considerations. It marks the 25th anniversary of the date when a group of Arabs hijacked commercial airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, murdering thousands of innocent Americans and lighting the fuse that led to a bloody war with Iraq.
This year’s High Holy Days also come at a time when American Jews are facing anti-Semitism unparalleled since World War II, as measured by the Anti-Defamation League, especially on university campuses.
There is social, economic and political upheaval in the wake of President Trump’s unofficial war with Iraq, which has put the U.S. and Israel in the role of being bullies and American Jews in the role of pawns in a fight that has strengthened Iran’s position instead of calling them out for the damage they and their proxies have inflicted all over the Middle East.
In America, where Israel has been a partner for three quarters of a century, there are moves in Congress to cut Israel’s security funding, and a socialist political movement at home that has boosted a bevy of anti-Jewish and pro-Arab political candidates.
Even in the traditionally liberal state of California, there are moves in the legislature to pass a law that will press Jews to declare their identity on the ballot, raising troubling questions about whether that will give Jews greater identity visibility or put them in a position where they would be seen as different rather than part of the mainstream.
Facing these issues as an American Jew, I turned, as I have before, to Rabbi David Baron, for answers and insights. Baron leads the Temple of the Arts and has for years provided my family with a thoughtful perspective on the difficult challenges facing American Jews.
When I spoke with the Rabbi, he had just returned to Los Angeles from Washington, D.C., where he was honored at the American Jewish Heritage Awards at the US Capitol. There were ten United States senators and four congressman who participated in the event, which also honored philanthropist Elliot Broidy and Nobel Prize winning physician, Dr. Harvey Alter.
“One of the first people I spoke to there (in D.C.) was Elissa Slotkin, the Democratic Senator from Michigan,” said Baron. “She said, in her opinion, this is the hardest time to be Jewish in her life experience. And it echoes what a lot of people feel about the increase in anti-Semitism. That increase has been dramatic since October 7th” (2023) when there were armed incursions into the Gaza Strip in southern Israel (by Hamas and others) during a Jewish holiday, and dozens of Jews were killed or taken hostage. Israel responded, launching what became the Gaza War. While there was some sympathy for the Jews, Israel’s strong reaction also caused a counter-reaction.
“I think what we failed to acknowledge was the source of that anti-Semitism,” said Baron. “It is primarily, overwhelmingly, Islamic extremism. That explosion of anti-Semitism can be directly linked. Even though our (Jewish) organizations, for fear of being called Islamophobes and for fear of criticism won’t say it, we all know. It is obvious.”
“I mean,” continued Baron, “clearly, it’s been out there a long time. This sort of gives people who want to be anti-Jewish a reason to be anti-Jewish. It gives them ammunition. And then there’s people who are just confused about the whole thing. And then they see in the news Arabs being, in their opinion, murdered or killed by Israeli soldiers who are, in a sense, just doing their job. So, all of that gets confused. It is sort of like kerosene being thrown on the fire, isn’t it?”
Baron added, “After one of the worst massacres of Jews since the Holocaust on October 7th, on October 8th, literally before the dead were even buried, worldwide protests against Israel were taking place and being organized in cities and on campuses around the world.”
“We need our friends and neighbors in the Muslim community who don’t hold those opinions to speak up and deal with it within,” added Baron. “I know there is fear, but the time has come. We need peaceful Muslim people to stand up and condemn the violence that’s coming from within their own community.”
Baron points to financial support from some Arab countries as one reason that the Muslim point of view is heard on university campuses. That is backed up by Anti-Defamation League reports indicating there is strong vocal support for Muslims in many cases.
“It’s been documented that the government of Qatar (a small, oil-rich nation on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula) has invested billions of dollars in American universities and their study departments.”
“There has been a lot of indoctrination happening on campuses as opposed to education,” said Baron. “There are speakers who want to speak on behalf of Israel who are booed off the stage or never even allowed to speak in the first place. That’s not pure academic freedom or a free exchange of ideas, which is what a university should be about.”
Baron says progress has been made though ensuring the safety of Jewish students. At UCLA, Baron cites the efforts of Jay Sures, Chairman of the UTA Talent Agency, who is also a UCLA Regent. “He has made an effort to stop anti-Israeli protests,” said Baron, “and despite a lot of pushback, he has been effective.
Baron said he remembers when the 9/11 attack left many Americans “feeling united like never before … Right afterward we experienced something really beautiful … the unity of resolve and purpose of healing. And that is so missed now in our society, where so many people have these politicized political points of view and the extremes seem to get all the attention.”
Baron is concerned that many of those born after 9/11 have no recollection or memory of it: “We’ve got to really educate our young people.”
“Here at our Temple of the Arts, I’ve invited a woman, Jill Pila, who is coming from New York. She lost her husband on the 86th floor of the Towers on 9/11,” added Baron. “She’s going to speak about that loss and how she rebuilt her life. These lessons are powerful and inspirational. We must remember them and keep them alive in the collective memory.”
The concern over Jewish identity is playing out in California as well. “California is poised to be the first state in the nation to allow people to identify their Jewish heritage on state forms,” reported the Los Angeles Times, “sparking debate within the community about identity and the merits of being singled out.”
“I have mixed emotions because I remember when I would see all the different ethnicities and all the different groups on a form asking which language would you like this voting ballot to be sent to you,” recalled Baron, adding: “Well, gee, where is the Jewish minority group? That would cross my mind. But I recognize that for me Judaism is a religion. It’s not an ethnicity. The best proof is that Ethiopian Jews are black-skinned, Yemenite Jews are very dark-skinned, and Ashkenazi Jews are usually fair-skinned. So, you cannot call it a race. You can’t call it an ethnicity. It’s really a religion at its heart. To me, that is not something I want to see people identified by - their religion.”
After thinking over his response, Baron did suggest there might be a reason for listing an ethnicity on the California ballot: “I do believe Judaism is a religion above all, but if that allocation can provide funding for Jewish people, because everybody thinks all Jews are rich, but they are not … if it can provide a state allocation of resources to the Jewish community, it could be a positive.”
Facing all the changes, challenges and difficulties being a Jewish American, Baron concludes on a positive note: “I think we have to have faith in God and in each other and in our common humanity to combat forces of evil and destruction in the world. I think that a common cause will unite more people than you could imagine. On a personal level, you have to have faith and hope in the future. And when you look into the eyes of your grandchild, you know you want a better world for them. And so that drives you. That drives your commitment to do everything you can to make that happen.”
WHAT THE TEMPLE OF THE ARTS IS PRESENTING FOR THE HIGH HOLY DAYS
The Temple of the Arts, an independent synagogue founded by Rabbi David Baron alongside a group of 50 friends in 1992 is home to what is considered the largest arts and entertainment industry congregation in the United States. It is a prominent non-traditional synagogue that operates out of the historic, art-deco Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, California, offering a contemporary approach to Judaism, pioneering the fusion of religion with the arts.
The Temple’s mission is to is to promote the spirit and teachings of Judaism through music, art, drama, dance and film, with readings often presented by Hollywood stars, other noted personalities and a wide range of artists. Along with performances and presentations, the congregation seeks to connect people across religious and cultural boundaries while exploring the past, present and future of Jewish life.
Services include songs and hymns brought to life by cantors Nathan Lam and Lisa J. Pierce, under the direction of four time Emmy nominee and Grammy-winning Music Director Sharon Farber, who oversees a large, talented chorus and many musical performers.
The Jewish New Year begins annually with the High Holy Days. This year, Rosh Hashanah will bring in the Jewish year 5787 at sundown on September 11, 2026, with celebrations and ceremonies continuing through the final blowing of the shofar (the ram’s horn) as night falls on Yom Kippur, on September 21, 2026.
Since Erev Rosh Hashanah marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on New York’s World Trade Center, special prayers and presentations will recall those who were lost, as well as those whose lives were forever changed by the tragedy.
Rabbi Baron’s sermon on 9/11 will discuss the ongoing fight against antisemitism and counterterrorism worldwide. “My message in my living sermon this year,” explains the Rabbi, “will be coming together as one in peace and unity for the betterment of all mankind.” The Rabbi’s special guest that evening will be Jill Pila, whose husband, Jim Gartenberg, was among the World Trade Center victims. She was carrying their second child when her husband died.
“I will share his selfless and heroic final words to me and to the media, spoken just moments before he was murdered,” says Pila. “His courage, love and concern for others in those final moments are a profound part of his legacy. It is so important that we continue to tell these stories and perpetuate the legacies of all 2,983 innocent lives lost on that day 25 years ago.”
“We will show a film chronicling the lives of non-Jewish people who saved the lives of Jews in danger during the Holocaust,” said Baron. “We will also discuss the ongoing fight against antisemitism and counterterrorism worldwide.”
Other guests will include Steve Emerson, a counterterrorism expert who presently serves as the Executive Director of The Investigative Project in Washington, D.C., and Vanessa Roth, 2008 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Short for Freeheld, who will talk about her new documentary film, The Righteous Road Trip.
On the afternoon of Yom Kippur, September 21, 2026, Rabbi David Baron will lead discussions with his High Holy Day special guests. There will be a special screening of the film The Righteous Road Trip, depicting a holiday journey across Eastern Europe with Jewish humanitarian Jonny Daniels and his dog, Tyson.
Traveling through Poland, Slovakia and Hungary in a van filled with Christmas trees and gifts, Jonny set out to visit some of the last of the 60 remaining Righteous Among the Nations—the extraordinary individuals who risked their lives to secretly save Jews during the Holocaust. There will be many others presenting stories that are true, touching and insightful, offering the congregation a chance to meditate on the meaning of the new year and this time of political and social upheaval, as Jews join with all good people to pray for a better world.
For those who are unable to be at the Temple, portions of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur presentations will be available via a free TV livestream. Check the Temple website for details shortly before the air date.
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