For Your Jewish Mother
If one were to believe the jokes, Jewish mothers enjoy nothing more than nagging their children to eat, encouraging grown children to get married, and bragging about the children’s…
What’s in the Book: Ezekiel
The 48 chapters of the Book of Ezekiel are filled with wondrous visions. Ezekiel’s first vision is of a fiery chariot drawn by creatures with four faces (of a man, a lion, an ox and an…
Naphtali, Son of Jacob
After four years of marriage and desperate to have a child, Rachel gave her handmaid, Bilhah, to her husband Jacob to be an additional wife and to bear children in her name. Any children…
The Perfect Species
At this time of the year, Jews around the globe head out in search of the perfect Lulav and Etrog, the four species, waved during the holiday of Sukkot. Since the lulav and etrog are used…
But Wait…There’s More
Now that the Jewish people have repented on Yom Kippur and, hopefully, received Divine forgiveness, it is time to sit back and relax... Just kidding! It is time to celebrate! Just…
The Ba’al Ha’turim
Spain in the Middle Ages was home to scholars of great renown such as Abraham ibn Ezra (1089 - c. 1164), Judah ha-Levi (1086-1145), Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides/Rambam 1135-1204)…
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…
And You Shall Teach
Do you know the phone numbers of all of your siblings and your three closest friends? Since the advent of the PDA (personal digital assistant), and perhaps even since the beginning of…
The Orchard
The Talmud (Chagiga 14b) tells the story of four rabbis who entered the Pardes (literally, the orchard), which is understood to be a metaphor for entering heaven through intense…
Saying Goodbye To Shabbat
Shabbat ends when three stars appear in the sky, a little more than an hour after candle lighting time. Maariv, the evening service, is recited in the synagogue and, upon returning home,…