Pom-Enjoyment
Make sure to say the proper blessing over your National Pomegranate Month (November) treats: Ha’etz for the fruit of the pomegranate, and She'ha'kol for pomegranate drinks.
Symbolic Foods
Since Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgment, it is customary to eat simanim*, foods with symbolic meanings that invoke God’s blessing. We also recite a short prayer before eating them.…
Immersing the Vessels
When shopping for common kitchen items, one typically does not ask the sales clerk, “Who manufactured them?” But, this information determines whether or not one must fulfill the mitzvah…
Operation Thunderbolt
When Air France Flight 139 left the Tel Aviv airport on the afternoon of June 27, 1976, the passengers and crew could not have imagined the terrifying, yet heroic, events of which they…
Ice Cream Soda Day
With the summer solstice arriving tomorrow, let us contemplate one of summertime’s favorite heat-quenching beverages. June 20th is Ice Cream Soda Day. The ice cream soda, sometimes called…
Seek the Answer
The Four Questions (Mah Nishtana – What makes it different?) is one of the most famous features of the Passover seder. In Ashkenazi homes, these four questions are recited by the youngest…
Setting the Seder Table
Before beginning the seder this Wednesday night, it is important to make certain that everything necessary is available. No seder table is complete without the following: 1) Three…
What’s With The Salt
At every Shabbat meal, the blessing of Ha’mo’tzee (the blessing over bread) is recited over two complete loaves of bread. This "bread" is usually the braided loaves known as challah, but…
Challah Time
Enjoy fresh challah tonight for Shabbat and remember to dip it into salt before eating. We know that salt had to be placed on sacrificial offerings in the Temple, and some commentaries…
Mordecai Manuel Noah
While one of the founding principles of the United States of America is freedom of religion, any historian would agree that in the early days of the United States, this was often more…