God’s Secret Things
On Sunday night, Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, will be celebrated. While New Year’s celebrations are nice (the Jewish calendar actually has four of them!), Rosh Hashana’s…
Mourning Jerusalem II: A Brief History of the Second Temple
The Babylonian Exile that followed the destruction of the First Temple lasted for 70 years. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nechemia, however, the Jews began to return to the land of…
Philosophy, Religion, A Jewish Civilization
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan was born on June 11, 1881, in Lithuania. His family moved to America in 1889. After receiving a traditional Jewish education, Kaplan studied at the Jewish…
Two Days of Festival
Leviticus 23:34-36: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month is the Feast of Tabernacles ... On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no manner of creative labor. For…
For The Mothers And Their Children
Sophie Irene Simon Loeb had no children of her own, but she dedicated her life to fighting for government support for widowed mothers. Her passionate campaign, which started after she did…
More Than Just Trees
Thousands of blue boxes and a dream that encompassed a nation...that was the foundation of the Jewish National Fund (JNF or Keren Kayemet L'Israel). Today, JNF is best…
God’s Secret Things
Tonight, Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, will be celebrated. While New Year’s celebrations are nice (the Jewish calendar actually has four of them!), Rosh Hashana’s significance is far…
The Charleston Synagogue(s)
Charleston, South Carolina is home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the United States. The 1669 charter for the Carolina Colony explicitly included liberty of conscious for…
A Song of Nature
According to the introduction of Perek Shirah (A Chapter of Song), after King David finished composing the Book of Psalms, he cried out to God: “Is there any creature that You have…
God’s Secret Things
In less than a week, Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, will be celebrated. While New Year’s celebrations are nice (the Jewish calendar actually has four of them!), Rosh Hashana’s…