Rabbi Tarfon
Studying the Talmud is a most exciting adventure that introduces a person to a host of intriguing historic personalities who had a profound impact on Jewish life. With so many different…
The Jewish Holiday A Week before Chanukah
The Mishnah (Rosh Hashana 1:1) declares four calendar dates as “Jewish new years.” On the first day of Tishrei, we celebrate Rosh Hashana as the annual day of judgment…
The Jewish Holiday A Week before Chanukah
The Mishnah (Rosh Hashana 1:1) declares four calendar dates as “Jewish new years.” On the first day of Tishrei, we celebrate Rosh Hashana as the annual day of judgment for all humanity…
The Jewish Holiday A Week before Chanukah
The Mishnah (Rosh Hashana 1:1) declares four calendar dates as “Jewish New Years.” On the first day of Tishrei, we celebrate Rosh Hashana as the annual day of judgment for all humanity…
The First Rabbi In America
The first ordained rabbi to serve in an American congregation was Rabbi Abraham Joseph Rice (originally Reiss, 1802-1862). After studying in Germany, in Wurtzburg and then Fuerth, Rice…
The Flying Rabbi
On October 24, 2011, a memorial to the Jewish chaplains of the United States Armed Services was dedicated in Arlington National Cemetery. The 14 Jewish chaplains whose names were…
The Flying Rabbi
On October 24, 2011, a memorial to the Jewish chaplains of the United States Armed Services was dedicated in Arlington National Cemetery. The 14 Jewish chaplains whose names were…
The First Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel
When history books discuss immigration to the land of Israel at the beginning of the twentieth century, the waves of immigrants to which they refer were, for the most part, Ashkenazim…
Call Him Ishmael…Rabbi Ishmael
It may seem surprising that the Talmud quotes a sage named Rabbi Ishmael. Biblically, Ishmael the son of Abraham and Hagar, is portrayed as a wild trouble-maker sent away from Abraham’s…
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
In early 19th century Germany, many communities found themselves in conflict between traditional Judaism and the new Reform movement. Finding the balance between living a Torah life and a…