Isru Chag

The day after vacation is often a time of distraction and disorientation. The same is true of the day following a religious holiday, especially after one of the week-long holidays…

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The Feast of Weeks

Shavuot, which we begin celebrating this Sunday night (May 16, 2021), is the only holiday listed in the Torah without the date on which it is to be observed. Rather, the Torah states that…

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Cooked Wine

Among the discussions of the many details of Jewish life recorded in the Mishna, the first written compilation of the oral law, is the following: “If a Jewish laborer is hired by a…

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Partner Contact Page

Update your contact informationUpdate information for rabbis, Jewish educators and synagogue representatives Welcome NJOP…

No Holiday as Joyous

Tu b’Av (The Fifteenth of Av) which is tomorrow, is no longer the well-known holiday on the Jewish calendar that it was in ancient times. In fact, the Talmud states that: “There were no…

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The Story of Chanukah

Around the year 167 B.C.E., the Syrian-Greek rulers of Judea tried to force the Jews to assimilate into Hellenic culture. They summoned the Jews to the town squares where they were forced…

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Jewish Jeaneology

February 26, celebrated as “Levi Strauss Day,” is the day, in 1829, that marked the birth of the blue jeans icon. Born in Bavaria, Levi Strauss immigrated, along with his mother and two…

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Pekudei 5782-2022

“The Lesson of the Basin: ‘Don’t Judge a Basin by its Cooper’” (updated and revised from Pekudei 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Pekudei, opens with…

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A Joyous Erev Shabbat

As our fellow Jews celebrate Shushan Purim in Jerusalem, and we prepare for Shabbat, enjoy another hamentashen, and crank up the festive celebratory Jewish music to mark the joyous…

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Setting the Seder Table

Before beginning the seder, it is important to make certain that everything necessary is available. No seder table is complete without the following: 1) Three Unbroken Matzot (Kosher for…

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