Shofar Shorts

The shofar is one of the most recognizable symbols of Rosh Hashana. Although it is preferable that a shofar be fashioned from a ram’s horn, the horn need only come from a kosher animal.*…

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Festive Poems

Take a survey of the most common adjective used to describe the Jewish High Holidays and the word might just be “long.” One reason for the long services is that in addition to the usual…

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The Three Ts

On Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur we declare: "Repentance, prayer and charity remove the evil of the decree!" In Hebrew, these constitute the 3 Ts:Teshuva, Tefila and Tzedaka.…

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No Cheeseburgers

Why don’t Jews eat meat and milk together? Because the Torah says: “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Lo t'vashail g'di ba'cha'laiv eemo.) To the modern Jew, however,…

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Fear Your Mother?

"Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12) is the fifth of the Ten Commandments. It is at the very heart of Judaism and is a mitzvah that straddles the twin aspects of Judaism:…

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Time of Freedom?

The sages refer to the holiday of Passover as zman chay’roo’tay’noo, the time of our freedom. This may seem obvious, since Passover celebrates the redemption of the Jewish people from…

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There’s A Key In My Challah

It's a fact that many people spend much time thinking and even worrying about par'nassah (livelihood).Jewish tradition teaches that different seasons have different spiritual…

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Can You Count To 49?

There is a commandment (Leviticus 23:15) to count the 49 days that immediately follow the first night of Passover and, on the 50th night, to celebrate the holiday of Shavuot. This period…

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Searching For Chametz

On Passover, Jews are commanded to get rid of all "chametz" (leaven) which may be in their possession. Weeks are spent cleaning and scrubbing. To confirm the effectiveness of these…

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Oh My Gosh! Passover Is Coming!

The intensive physical and emotional preparations for Passover come from one seemingly simple commandment: "Seven days you will eat only matzah, but on the first day you shall have put…

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