The Great Shabbat

The Shabbat immediately preceding Passover is known as Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat. It is best known for being the Shabbat on which the rabbi of the community (or another…

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What Do You Call The Seventh Day?

What do you call the Seventh Day, the Day of Rest? Some people call it “Shabbat” and greet their friends and neighbors with a hearty “Shabbat Shalom.” Others refer to it as “Shabbos” and…

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Haman’s History

According to the narrative in the Book of Esther, Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people appears to have been instigated by the fact that Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman. Talk…

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Ushpeezin (Oo’shpee’zin)

During the festival of Sukkot, the sukkah is intended to be our home. For example, since one would normally dine in the house, on Sukkot one dines in the sukkah. Because the sukkah is…

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The Great Shabbat

The Shabbat immediately preceding Passover is known as Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat. It is best known for being the Shabbat on which the rabbi of the community (or another…

Read More

Ushpeezin (Oo’shpee’zin)

During the festival of Sukkot, the sukkah is intended to be our home. For example, since one would normally dine in the house, on Sukkot one dines in the sukkah. Because the sukkah is…

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Insights into the American Revolution

The American Revolution was a time of great upheaval for the American colonists. Nearly everyone was affected, no matter whether they supported or opposed the revolution. The Jewish…

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From Them I Learned

Our modern media culture likes to “label” successful people: The richest person, the prettiest person, the person of the year, and etc. And because our culture is so influenced by the…

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Corrie ten Boom

Today, April 15, is the date of both the birth and death of Cornelia “Corrie” Arnolda Johanna ten Boom (1892-1983), who was honored in 1967 as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations.”…

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More Than Shabbat

Ahad Ha'am (Asher Ginsberg, poet and Zionist ideologue: 1856-1927) is quoted as saying, "More than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews." This statement is part of the key to…

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