Jewish Treats

What Is Isru Chag?

The day after vacation is often a time of distraction and disorientation. The same is true of the day following a religious holiday, especially after one of the week-long holidays…

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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 addition to this mitzvah,…

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Jewish Treats

Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah

Tonight starts the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, literally the Gathering of the Eighth, a connected, yet independent holiday, that immediately follows Sukkot.During the seven days of…

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Jewish Treats

Everyone Does the Wave

One of the main mitzvot of the holiday of Sukkot is the waving of the four species: citron (etrog), palm, myrtle and willow. Trying to understand this mitzvah metaphorically, our sages…

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Jewish Treats

Chol Hamoed

Most holidays in Western society last for a single day, which is often extended into the weekend. And while most people are aware that Chanukah is celebrated for 8 days, many people are…

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Jewish Treats

The Four Species

The waving of the four species is one of the most beautiful and symbolic mitzvot of the year.Indeed, there is a special commandment (Leviticus 23:40) that one make a specific effort to…

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Jewish Treats

Wave the Species

Make an effort to either obtain a set of the four species, which can be purchased at synagogues and at Jewish bookstores, or find a place where a set will be available for waving and…

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Jewish Treats

Building on Yom Kippur’s Momentum

With Yom Kippur in the rear view mirror, we find ourselves confronting the festival of Sukkot, beginning a mere five days after Yom Kippur. While we must transition quickly from the…

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Weekly Message,Sukkot

Sukkot 5780-2019

“A Sukkot Story: Devotion to a Festival” (Updated and revised from Sukkot 5761-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The famed Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin records the unusual story concerning…

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Jewish Treats

For The Sin We Committed

One of the main steps in the process of teshuva (repentance) is confessing one’s sins and verbalizing one’s errors. In so doing, a person admits committing a sin, not so much to…

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