But Wait, There’s More
Now that the Jewish people have repented on Yom Kippur and, hopefully, received Divine forgiveness, it is time to sit back and relax... Just kidding! It is time to celebrate! Just five…
The Fast of Gedaliah (Tzom Gedaliah)
The Fast of Gedaliah is observed to commemorate the murder of Gedaliah the son of Achikam, which is described in the last chapter of the Second Book of Kings. This murder resulted in…
Heroine of the Old City
When the official U.N. Partition Plan went into effect in May 1948, the 1,700 residents of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City were cut off from the rest of Jewish Jerusalem. Their…
The Feast of Weeks
Shavuot, which we begin celebrating Tuesday night (May 14th), is the only holiday in the Torah not listed by the date on which it is to be observed. Rather, the Torah teaches that this…
Western Wall History
The Western (Wailing*) Wall is the holiest location in Jewish life. With 28 rows of massive stones above ground (and 17 below), the wall itself is physically breathtaking. Its holiness…
Seven Days To The Sea
The Passover celebration lasts seven days (eight days, outside of Israel. For more information as to why, please click here). The first day (and second, outside of Israel) is a Yom Tov,…
Precious Creation
While there are many appropriate themes with which the Torah could have begun (Abraham, Mt. Sinai, etc.), it begins instead with a day-by-day description of the creation of the world,…
Putting Chanukah In Perspective
The events of Chanukah took place about 150 years after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE), whose death brought 40 years of civil war to his empire. Eventually, the empire was…
But Wait…There’s More
Now that the Jewish people have repented on Yom Kippur and, hopefully, received Divine forgiveness, it is time to sit back and relax... Just kidding! It is time to celebrate! Just four…
The Fast of Gedaliah (Tzom Gedaliah)
The Fast of Gedaliah is observed to commemorate the murder of Gedaliah the son of Achikam, which is described in the last chapter of the Second Book of Kings. This murder resulted in the…