What’s in the Book: Job
While the Book of Job (Iyov in Hebrew) is frequently quoted, it is a book that not many lay-people read. A challenging work philosophically, it is written in a complex, poetic style. The…
The Second Commandment
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or…
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…
Spiritual Compass
Today, November 6, brings us to yet another odd, seemingly random, holiday that has grown out of the internet age. Today is “Marooned without a Compass Day.” While the name of…
Acts of Nature, with a Little Help
Our Rabbis have taught: On entering the barn to measure the newly harvested grain one shall recite the benediction, ‘May it be Your will O Lord, our God, that You may send blessing upon…
Miraculous Water
Human beings have several basic needs: food, water and protection from the elements. In the desert, these necessities can be difficult to come by. During the Children of Israel’s sojourn…
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…
Communicating with God
There is an old joke in which the President of the United States receives an exorbitant phone bill after calling God, while the Prime Minister of Israel gets to call God as a free local…
Lilith – Queen of the Demons
Although it is not a well-known aspect of Judaism, demons abound in Jewish lore. Mentioned throughout the Talmud and Midrash, they are forces that work against humankind except when they…
A Pair of Psalms
“You will eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:10). There are few pleasures shared by cultures around the world as the pleasure of eating. Because it is human…