Seeking God in Elul

In anticipation of the High Holy Days and during the High Holy Days themselves, Psalm 27 is read twice daily from the beginning of the month of Elul through the entire holiday of Sukkot,…

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Choosing a Hebrew Name

When naming a child, parents are often faced with a great deal of outside pressure. Family, friends, co-workers--everybody has an opinion. Stressed-out parents should feel some relief…

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Shop Now!

Learn more about and purchase some of the special simanim, the symbolic foods that are eaten on Rosh Hashana so you will be able to recite the special prayers and enjoy them as we welcome…

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Haazinu-Yom Kippur 5784

"A Propitious Time for Repentance" (updated and revised from Haazinu 5762-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z Buchwald On Sunday night, September 24th, the tenth of Tishrei, Jews, the world over,…

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Everyone Does the Wave

One of the main mitzvot of the holiday of Sukkot is the waving of the Four Species: citron (etrog), palm branch (lulav), myrtle (hadassim) and willow (aravot). Trying to understand this…

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The Great Hoshana

Rosh Hashana is known as the Day of Judgment (Yom Hadin), the day on which God judges every person. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the day on which God finalizes His verdict on the…

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Spiritual Compass

Today, November 6th, is yet another odd, seemingly random, holiday that has grown out of the internet age: “Marooned without a Compass Day.” While the name of the day may seem quaint and…

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World Hello Day

In 1973, Brian and Michael McCormack created "World Hello Day" as a reaction to the Yom Kippur War. College students at the time, the McCormack brothers started a campaign encouraging…

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These Lights We Kindle

While the mitzvah of lighting the menorah is an outward-focused mitzvah – the menorah is lit in a window or doorway – it is also an opportunity for personal reflection on the deeper…

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Chanukah and Divine Order

Chanukah always overlaps with at least one Shabbat (if not two), and since Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days, the holiday always coincides with the…

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