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…
Painting Our People
Born on December 26, 1902, in Rahachow, Belarus (in the Pale of Settlement), Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan was a Jewish painter who celebrated his Jewish heritage and the Jewish world in his…
The Fast of the Fifth of Tevet
Aside from Yom Kippur, which is mentioned in the Torah, all the other fasts on the Jewish calendar are rabbinic in nature and find their rabbinic source in a single scriptural verse:…
Skeptic Questioning
Tomorrow, January 13th, is National Skeptics Day, a day that encourages people to ask questions. Those who are curious might be inclined to ask whether Judaism has any room for…
National Freedom Day
Today, February 1st, is both National Freedom Day and the first day of Black History Month. National Freedom Day was initially advocated for by Major Richard Robert Wright Sr.…
The Foods of Tu b’Shevat
Today, Jews around the world will celebrate Tu b’Shevat, the new year of the trees. Tu b’Shevat is often celebrated with the seven species for which the Torah praises the land of Israel:…
Make it a “Great Shabbat”
Celebrate Shabbat Hagadol by learning more about Passover traditions and rituals. On this Shabbat HaGadol, the Haftarah, drawn from the final book of the prophets, Malachi describes that…
Ready, Set Seder!
Aside from purchasing the items that you will need for your seder table, watch NJOP’s Passover Seder 101 web series featuring Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald. Click here for 15 short webisodes…
9/11 and Jewish History
The attack on the continental U.S. homeland on September 11, 2001 changed the entire complexion of the United States. Almost 200 years had passed since the last attack on the U.S.…
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All That’s Left
August 13th is annually celebrated as “Left Hander’s Day.” Most Lefties, also known as “southpaws” due to the orientation of baseball stadiums in regard to the sun, are proud of their…