Putting Chanukah In Perspective

The events of Chanukah took place about 150 years after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE), which brought 40 years of civil war to his empire. Eventually, the empire was divided…

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Putting Chanukah in Perspective

The events of Chanukah took place about 150 years after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE), whose death brought 40 years of civil war to his empire. Eventually, the empire was…

Read More

Putting Chanukah In Perspective

The events of Chanukah took place about 150 years after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE), whose death brought 40 years of civil war to his empire. Eventually, the empire was…

Read More

Putting Chanukah In Perspective

Tonight we will light the final Chanukah candles. Let us take just a few more moments to make Chanukah real in our minds by placing it in its historical context: The events of Chanukah…

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Putting Chanukah in Perspective

Last night we lit the final Chanukah candles, and today is the last day of the holiday. Let us now take just a few more moments to make Chanukah real in our minds. We’ve talked about the…

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The History of Purim

The History of Purim The story of Purim takes place at the very end of the era known in Jewish history as the Babylonian…

The Jews of Turkey: A Historical Overview

Given Turkey’s proximity to the Land of Israel, it is not surprising that there has been a Jewish presence in that country since at least the 4th century B.C.E, when the land was Roman…

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Tisha B’Av

The saddest day on the Jewish calendar, the ninth of Av, is this Shabbat. Because of Shabbat, the normally observed Fast of the 9th of Av (Tisha b’Av) is pushed off until Sunday. The…

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Emor 5761-2001

"The Gift of Celebration" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In the second half of this week's parasha, parashat Emor, there is a review of most of the Biblical festivals of the Jewish…

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The History Around Purim

The story of Purim takes place at the very end of the era known in Jewish history as the Babylonian Exile.Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem and…

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