Category: Chagim

Tisha B'Av: Does G-d Cry? On Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av (which this year begins at nightfall July 25), Jews mourn over the loss of the Holy Temple, Beis HaMikdash in Hebrew, that stood in Jerusalem. On this day, the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple in 586 B.C.E., and the Romans demolished the Second Temple in 70 C.E.. Each Tisha B'Av, we have a custom to read Eicha, or the Book of Lamentations, a painful account of the prophet Jeremiah's intense sorrow over the destruction of the First Temple. In addition to reading the Eicha, we abstain from any physical pleasures the entire day. We are not allowed to eat, drink, wash our bodies for enjoyment or wear leather shoes. A little less-known Halacha, or Jewish law, is that we are not allowed to say hello to each other. This law is perhaps the most difficult for me and yet the most meaningful. In Jerusalem in the...

(print version) Wonder Bread Tapping the Transformational Power of Faith During the seven days of Passover we are required to eat only...

(print version) (Why) Are the Jews meant to...

(print version) Passover - In the Name of Love Passover commemorates the miraculous exodus of the Jews from Egypt. After 210 years of oppression and cruel servitude, an entire people leave in astounding record time, faster than it takes dough to leaven into bread. We celebrate this event with a festive meal and ceremony called the...

(print version) What Makes a Leader? ...

(print version) Sukkot and Simchat Torah Celebrating Wholeness, Spontaneity and Anticipation Off to a Right Start The holiday of Sukkot reminds us of the huts of the Israelites as they wandered for forty years in the desert after their miraculous Exodus from Egypt . It would stand to reason, then, that Sukkot should be celebrated right after the holiday of Passover. However, the Talmudic sages explain that since Passover is in the spring, living in the sukkah would not be anything special. It is common to be outside during the warm months of the year. After Yom Kippur, however, when it starts to get cold, people generally take shelter inside. We go outside, only because G-d commands us to do so. Leaving our homes precisely when we are not naturally inclined to do so, internalizes one of the important lessons of Sukkot-G-d is our only true shelter, and we must trust in Him. We often transgress the will of G-d, because we mistakenly think...

(print version) Recently, I read a story over the Internet of a class of grade school students who were requested to write their list for the modern day "Seven Wonders of the World." Many of the students included Egypt...

(print version) Getting the Forgiveness You Want Yom Kippur Secrets About Yom Kippur...

(print version) Yom HaKippurim: The day of atonement; that is how we usually translate it; but is that what it really means? I heard a remarkable story this summer, in the midst of all the fighting in Aza, though in all honesty I have not troubled to corroborate the story. Apparently a group of Ultra-Orthodox residents from Bnei Brak came to a field near the Gaza strip to harvest wheat for Pesach. Every summer they search for wheat ripe enough to harvest in August when the sun dries the wheat most intensely as part of the process in producing ...

(print version) Who is G-d to Judge? How to Celebrate a Day of Judgment I did not grow up in a religious home but we did go to shul (synagogue) every Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I remember one Rosh Hashanah the rabbi got up and said, ...