Written for Their Sons
Imagine traveling forward 500 years in time and discovering multitudes of people studying something you had written for your child. Imagine walking into a bookstore and finding multiple…
Breaking The Glass
No respectable film-maker would record a Jewish wedding scene without including the dramatic moment of the breaking of the glass, followed by the joyous shouts of "Mazal Tov!" A moment of…
Frequent Flyer Miles
As far back as the mid-1800s, rabbis wrestled with the question of the growing mobility of the populace. Since there were no new lands to be discovered, those of an exploring nature were…
First On The Court
Born in 1856, in Louisville, Kentucky, Louis Dembitz Brandeis was the child of European immigrants who maintained a minimal Jewish identity. However, his maternal uncle, Lewis Dembitz,…
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…
Chaim Weizmann
Many of the greatest names in Israeli history belong to leaders of military battles and to eloquent spokespersons who rallied the Jewish people to fight for a modern homeland. Chaim…
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…
There’s A Key In My Challah!
It's a fact that many people spend much time thinking and even worrying about par'nassah (livelihood). Jewish tradition teaches that different seasons have different spiritual strengths.…
The Song of Songs
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine. Because of the fragrance of your goodly oils, your name is ‘oil poured forth.’ Therefore, the maidens…
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…