Marvelous Manna
“Foodies” everywhere might appreciate the fact that some people see the exceptionally wide variety of textures and flavors that are found in food as proof of God’s desire for humankind to…
Workers’ Rights
Are workers’ rights a modern invention born out of the trials and tribulations of the industrial revolution? Everyone’s heard of the horrors of the sweatshops, child labor abuses and…
When The Earth Moves
This day in history: 501 C.E., the coastal city of Acco (Israel) was destroyed in an earthquake. One of the blessings recited every morning is: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the…
Malchut-Kingship
The seventh and final week of Sefirat Ha’Omer, the counting of the days between Passover and Shavuot, is dedicated to the Sephirah of Malchut - Kingship. (For an explanation of the…
No Cheeseburgers
Why don’t Jews eat meat and milk together? Because the Torah says: “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Lo t'vashail g'di ba'cha'laiv eemo.) To the modern Jew, however, this phrase…
The Blessings of the Amidah: Gratitude
The nineteen blessings of the Amidah make up the core of the Jewish prayer service. The eighteenth blessing is an outright statement of gratitude. It is the longest of the nineteen…
The Blessings of the Amidah: Accept Our Prayers
The nineteen blessings of the Amidah make up the core of the Jewish prayer service. The seventeenth blessing begins the final section of the Amidah, the section in which we express our…
The Blessings of the Amidah: Rebuilding Jerusalem
The nineteen blessings of the Amidah make up the core of the Jewish prayer service. The fourteenth blessing begins a new focus on the time of redemption, beginning with the restoration…
The Blessings of the Amidah: On Behalf of the Righteous
The nineteen blessings of the Amidah make up the core of the Jewish prayer service. The thirteenth blessing is the opposite of the one before; it is a prayer for the righteous, with the…
The Blessings of the Amidah: God Loves Us
The nineteen blessings of the Amidah make up the core of the Jewish prayer service. The eleventh blessing focuses on God’s love of justice and requests a return to judges such as we had…