Jewish Treats

The Tenth of Tevet

And it was in the ninth year of [King Zaddekiah’s] reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth (day) of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, came, he and all his legions, upon…

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Jewish Treats

Spiritual Compass

Today, November 6, brings us to yet another odd, seemingly random, holiday that has grown out of the internet age. Today is “Marooned without a Compass Day.” While the name of…

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Jewish Treats

Beating the Willows

During Sukkot, there is a mitzvah to wave the four species (lulav, hadassim, aravot and etrog - palm, myrtle, willow and citron) every day except on Shabbat. In…

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Jewish Treats

The Sukkot Hoshanot Services

Walk into a traditional synagogue in the middle of morning services during the week of Sukkot and you might have to take precaution not to be trampled upon by the circle of attendees…

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Jewish Treats

All Vows

Yom Kippur begins this evening before sunset with the recitation of Kol Nidre, which is actually the prelude to the evening service.Kol Nidre, which literally means "All…

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Jewish Treats

The Food of Yom Kippur

Food on Yom Kippur? Isn’t Yom Kippur the most famous fast day on the Jewish calendar? "One who eats and drinks on the ninth, is considered by the Torah to have fasted on both the ninth…

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Jewish Treats

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…

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Jewish Treats

Smashing the Tablets

The sages declare that five tragedies occurred on the seventeenth of Tammuz, which is why the day is observed as a fast day. Days of what we might now call “bad karma” (on which bad…

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Jewish Treats

Tisha B’Av is Tomorrow

The saddest day on the Jewish calendar, the ninth of Av, is tomorrow.The observances of the day are very similar to Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. In addition to…

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Jewish Treats

The Tragedy of the Idol

Ever since Moses saw the Israelites dancing around the Golden Calf and smashed the two tablets of the law, the 17th of Tammuz has been an inauspicious day for the Jewish people,…

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