Jewish Boxing Days?
In many countries, especially those associated with the United Kingdom, December 26th is known as Boxing Day. There are divergent views as to the source of this day and the origin of the…
No Holiday as Joyous
Tu b’Av (The Fifteenth of Av) is no longer the well-known holiday on the Jewish calendar that it was in ancient times. In fact, the Talmud states that: “There were no holidays so…
Relative Suffering
In Parashat Vayechi we find the patriarch Jacob saying goodbye, and offering blessings and words of wisdom to his loving family. Before offering parting words to all of his sons, Jacob…
Enabling Citizen Cain
Our weekly Torah reading has once again cycled back to the Book of Genesis, returning to the stories and moral lessons of the earliest days of civilization. In addition to the ethical…
The Second Passover
On the first anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt, the Children of Israel prepared to celebrate their first Passover as free people. God decreed that they should eat matzah and maror…
Whose First Fruits
When the Oral Law was first codified, most Jews lived in agrarian settings. Today, being less familiar with agrarian culture, some people find it difficult to relate to some of the…
The Second Passover
On the first anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt, the Children of Israel prepared to celebrate their first Passover as free people. God decreed that they should eat matzah and maror…
Whose First Fruits
When the Oral Law was first codified, most Jews lived in agrarian settings. Today, being less familiar with agrarian culture, some people find it difficult to relate to some of the…
Let’s Talk About Sin
What is sin? To a native English speaker, the word “sin” is laden with concepts of Christian theology. In Judaism, a sin is more appropriately called an aveira, which means a…
The Second Passover
On the first anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt, the Children of Israel prepared to celebrate their first Passover as free people. God decreed that they should eat matzah and maror…