Tashlich
The Rosh Hashana tashlich ceremony is a tradition that is dear throughout the many diverse Jewish communities. Tashlich literally translates as "You will throw." But what, exactly, is……
Come My Beloved
The Talmud (Shabbat 116a) describes how the sages would greet Shabbat: “Rabbi Chaninah would wrap himself in his cloak and say: ‘Come, let us go and greet the Shabbat Queen.’ Rabbi…
Forgiveness: An Elul Treat
Many feel that the three hardest words to say are: “I am sorry.” Yet, we all know how very important those words are. Indeed, saying one is sorry, or at least admitting one’s guilt, is a…
Happy Birthday Adam
Adam Richard Sandler was born September 9, 1966 in New York City to Judith (Levine) and Stanley Sandler, who descended from Russian Jewish immigrants on both sides. When Adam was 6, the…
Rabbi Shmuel Salant
On the 29th of Av, 1909, corresponding to August 16th, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, Jerusalem’s long-time Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, passed away. Rabbi Shmuel was born in 1816 in Bialystok, then…
The Children of the Children of Israel
April 2nd, the birthday of the famed Danish author of children’s books, Hans Christian Andersen, who was born on that date in 1805, is celebrated as International Children’s Book Day. The…
I’m a Poet and I Don’t Know It!
August 21 is annually celebrated as Poet’s Day (not to be confused with Poets Day, which is celebrated weekly, on Fridays in Great Britain, similar to TGIF). Poet’s Day was initiated on…
The Saddest Day
When ten of the twelve scouts who were dispatched by Moses to survey the Promised Land returned with a negative report, God’s anger was kindled. The Almighty decreed that the adults of…
The Circle of Life
“The Circle of Life,” is both an apt description of the ups and downs of the life cycle, and also an award-winning song written by the legendary Sir Elton John for the 1994 movie hit…
Of Shamrocks, Snails and Survivors: the life of Rabbi Isaac Herzog
Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the State of Israel’s first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi, passed away, at age 70, on this date - the 19th of Tammuz – sixty years ago, in 1959, corresponding to July 25th.…