Lag Ba’omer
The period of mourning* (for the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva who died of plague) associated with Sefirat Ha’omer is not observed on the 33rd day of the Omer, a day known as Lag…
Ethics of the Fathers
Ethics - it’s a big word in our day and age. Between political corruption and financial misdeeds, it is easy to wonder what ever happened to even the most basic ethical standards.…
Religious Recycling
Organized recycling is a development of the modern world, and from the current understanding of the concept, is not discussed in the Talmud. After all, in the era when the sages were…
Controlling Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl is one of the prominent contemporary environmental concerns. It is, understandably, a modern issue that started at the time of the industrial revolution. Oddly enough,…
Chol Hamoed
Most holidays in western society last for a single day, which is often extended into the weekend. And while most people are aware that Chanukah is celebrated for 8 days, many people are…
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…
Fast of the Firstborn
There has always been a lot of pressure on firstborn children, as they were often expected to care for the family property or business in order to ensure stability within the community.…
Paschal Lamb – A Unique Commandment
While most Jews have attended a Passover Seder, no Jew in the last 1,900 plus years has tasted a Paschal lamb (“Korban Pesach”), the animal offering associated with Passover that shares…
Development of the Haggadah
On Passover night we are commanded "v'hee'ga'd'ta" and you shall tell, the story of the Exodus. (Notice the shared root of hee'ga'd'ta and Haggadah.) The Passover Haggadah serves as a…
The Nathan Sisters
The Suffragist Movement of the early twentieth century was a political cause about which many people felt strongly, either one way or the other. Maud Nathan and her sister Annie Nathan…