Mourning Jerusalem: A Brief History of the First Temple
On Sunday, Jews all over the world will observe the fast of Tisha b’Av. It is on this day that the Jewish people mourn the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. The First…
The Building of Solomon’s Temple
The 17th of Cheshvan marks the day on which King Solomon declared the work on the Holy Temple (Beit Hamikdash) to be complete. By then, Solomon had been king for eleven years, and the…
The Miracles of the Temple
The Jewish liturgy is filled with reminders of how we should mourn the loss of the Holy Temple, with prayers asking God to return the Holy Temple to us. While it is common knowledge, from…
The Second Uprising
History is a study in cause and effect. On the 9th of Av (Saturday, July 25. Fast observed on Sunday, July 26), the Jewish people mourn two additional tragic events that…
The Second Uprising
History is a study in cause and effect. Today, on the 9th of Av, the Jewish people mourn two additional tragic events that followed the terrible destruction of the Second Temple: the…
Passover: The Second Days 5768-2008
"Counting the Omer" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In parashat Emor, we learn of the mitzvah of counting the Omer. Leviticus 23:15-16 declares: "Oosfartem lachem mee'macharat…
Miracles in the Holy Temple
As we prepare to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, on Monday, May 10th, take the opportunity to print out before Shabbat the 5th chapter of Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers,…
Temple Talk
This Shabbat, discuss what you know about the glory of the Holy Temple.
The Second Passover
On the first anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt, the Children of Israel prepared to celebrate their first Passover as free people. God decreed that they should eat matzah and maror…
The Second Passover
On the first anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt, the Children of Israel prepared to celebrate their first Passover as free people. God decreed that they should eat matzah and maror…