The Arc in the Sea
God’s incredible miracle splitting the Red Sea and saving the Israelite people from the oncoming Egyptian army, was one of the greatest miracles and moments the world has ever…
The Three Weeks
“When Av enters, we must lessen our rejoicing,” declare the Talmudic sages in Ta’anit 26b.In truth, however, this period of "sadness" begins on the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz (observed…
An Eight or Nine Day Week?
Practically all civilized humanity has agreed on some basic common measures to mark time. A day consisting of 24 hours follows the natural rotation of the earth on its axis. The lunar…
Written for Their Sons
Imagine traveling forward 500 years in time and discovering multitudes of people studying something you had written for your child. Imagine walking into a bookstore and finding multiple…
Inside or Outside?
Seder night is an event pregnant with tradition and ritual. As the Hagaddah instructs, “we are obligated to see ourselves as if we ourselves were slaves in Egypt.” So much of the Seder…
A Fast of the Past
In just over a week, on the 17th day of Tammuz, Jews around the world will fast to commemorate multiple tragedies and to mark the beginning of the three-week period that concludes…
The Sadducee King Yannai
Alexander Jannaeus (Yannai or Y’honatan in Hebrew) served as the second Hasmonean king of Judea from 103 BCE until his death in 76 BCE. The third son of John Hyrcanus, he succeeded his…
Evian!
Before Evian became a popular brand of natural spring water, the French resort of Evian was host to an international conference to address the mounting crisis of Jews seeking to escape…
Is Today Rosh Hashana?
A quick perusal of the Jewish calendar will note that today, the first of the Hebrew month of Shevat, always falls two weeks prior to Tu b’Shevat, the beginning of the end of the winter,…
Fire and Ice
A news story in June, 2017, reported that a combination of ice and fire doomed the Titanic and caused its sinking on April 14, 1912. Photos of the ship prior to its departure from Belfast…