Post Labor Day Whites
When is it fashionably acceptable to wear white after Labor Day? On Yom Kippur!Many people have the custom of wearing white on Yom Kippur. In the synagogue you will often see women…
Hearing About Huldah
Among the many prophets who predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, only one prophetess is recorded. Huldah was a descendent of Joshua and Rachav, as well as a cousin of the prophet…
The Incomplete Repentance
“Repentance” sounds like a grand and powerful word. In truth, the most important adjective that must be attached to the act of repentance is the word “sincere.” At one time or another, we…
Vocation
“If a man ploughs in the ploughing season, sows in the sowing season, reaps in the reaping season (and etc.)...what is to become of the Torah?” (Talmud Brachot 35b). This question,…
Pleasing with People
In a book of Jewish wisdom, one might expect the text to be solely focused on a person’s relationship with God. However, since Judaism places as much if not more emphasis on interpersonal…
Israel’s Memorial Day
The State of Israel's independence, as well as its continued survival, is a modern day miracle. But, it has come at great cost in human lives to its citizens. Therefore, before Israel…
Seek the Answer
The Four Questions (Mah Nishtana - What makes it different?) is one of the most famous features of the Passover Seder. In Ashkenazi homes, these four lines are recited by the…
Costume Time
Those who first hear about the custom of wearing Purim costumes might assume that the tradition began as an imitation of Halloween. Research, however, places the origin of Halloween…
Forgiven Love – A Parable
The last parasha (weekly Torah reading) of the Book of Exodus focuses almost exclusively on the conclusion of the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Already though, a fair number of…
Beyond Boils
When the Torah was translated into English, the Hebrew word makkah was translated as plague. In the modern lexicon, however, the term plague often brings to mind the hideous Black Plague…