Midnight
A day is divided into 24 equal units of time (hours). Different cultures, however, define the beginning (and end) of a day differently. For instance, while a day on the Gregorian calendar…
A Lullaby Blessing
In the Talmud (Berachot 5a), Rabbi Yitzchak is quoted saying: "Whoever recites the Bedtime Shema is as though he held a two-edged sword in his hand [to protect him against demons]...”…
The Population Question
The Malthusian theory of overpopulation is a popular doomsday prediction. Thomas Malthus (1766 -1834) proposed that population increases due to improved standards of living would lead to…
Rain, Rain…
“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day...” This cute ditty must have been written in a northern country–someplace like England–where they have the luxury of wishing rain away. In…
The Torah Service
The Torah Service is central to the Saturday morning synagogue service and has much ceremony and fanfare. It begins with the opening of the aron ha’kodesh (holy ark - the cabinet housing…
Salt and Hospitality
The region of the Dead Sea (a.k.a. Yam Ha'melach - The Sea of Salt) was once the home of Sodom and Gomorrah, famous for their destruction by fire and brimstone, as recorded in Genesis 19.…
What’s In The Book: Judges
Once in the promised land (Book of Joshua), the Israelites formed a commonwealth of 12 tribes loosely ruled by judges and elders. After the first generation, the Israelites fell into a…
And You Shall Teach
Do you know the phone numbers of all of your siblings and your three closest friends? Since the advent of the PDA (personal digital assistant), and perhaps even since the beginning of…
Workers’ Rights
Are workers’ rights a modern invention born out of the trials and tribulations of the industrial revolution? Everyone’s heard of the horrors of the sweatshops, child labor abuses and…