What’s In The Book: The Twelve Prophets – Haggai
The Book of Haggai is the first of the Twelve Prophets written after the exiled Jews returned to the Land of Israel and were governed by Zerubbabel. The High Priest of the era was Joshua…
One! Two! Three! Feel The Burn!
Some people love to exercise, others hate it, but everyone knows that it is a vital component of properly maintaining one’s physical health. While the Torah does not…
Left Jab
Even those who are unfamiliar with boxing can picture the subtle dance of…
The Burial at Betar
In war, a common means of humiliating the enemy is to refuse them burial of their dead (which is also forbidden by the Geneva Convention). Certainly, demoralization was the goal of the…
Mourning Jerusalem II: A Brief History of the Second Temple
The Babylonian Exile that followed the destruction of the First Temple lasted for 70 years. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nechemia, however, the Jews began to return to the…
A Guest For How Long?
The mitzvah of hachnassat orchim is so important that it is listed as one of only six mitzvot for which “a person eats the fruit in this world, while the principal remains for that person…
Don’t Be A Boor
Self-improvement trends come and go, but their continuing popularity underscores people’s general desire to better themselves. It is natural to want to be both liked and respected,…
Fleeing In The New World
The history of the conversos, those Spanish and Portuguese Jews who hid their identities by publicly behaving as observant Catholics, is tragic not only for the horrible auto-de-fes (mass…
“Snakes, Why Did it Have to Be Snakes?”
Ophidiophobia is the fear of snakes. This is one of the most common phobias, and, in fact, it is so common and apparently instinctual that scientists have even taken to studying why this…
Well It’s Been A Long Day
Today is the longest day of the year - the summer solstice. Technically, the summer solstice is an astronomical event that occurs when the sun reaches its most northern point in the sky.…