The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz
Everyone knows about Yom Kippur. There are, however, several other fast days in the Jewish calendar that are not nearly as well known, like the 17th of Tammuz. As mentioned in the…
The Power of Shabbat
Jewish life ebbs and flows around the celebration of Shabbat. The days of the week are labelled by a count toward Shabbat (Sunday isYom Rishon, the first day; Monday is Yom Shaynee,…
The End of the Tamid Offering
In the year that the Israelites left Egypt, on the 17th day of Tammuz, Moses descended from Mount Sinai to find the Jewish people dancing around the Golden Calf. In exasperation, Moses…
The Book of Ruth
Ruth was the Moabite wife of Machlon, one of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi, a wealthy couple who had fled Bethlehem during a bitter famine. Elimelech's family had settled in Moab, a…
Give Them A Choice
There is an oft-cited Midrash (Sifrei, Dvarim 343) describing how God offered the Torah to the other nations of the world before He gave it to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.…
Day of Distinction
On the first day of Sivan in the year 2448 (Jewish calendar), only seven weeks after leaving Egypt, the Israelites reached the Wilderness of Sinai. On the desert plain around the…
Take Two Tablets
Most artistic representations of the Ten Commandments present two rectangular tablets rounded off at the top. As pleasing to the eyes as this rounded design may be, tradition suggests…
The Feast of Weeks
Shavuot, which we begin celebrating Saturday night (May 23rd), is the only holiday in the Torah not listed by the date on which it is to be observed. Rather, the Torah teaches that this…