Man plans, and God laughs: What the Delta variant means for High Holiday services
With the High Holidays approaching and the Delta variant surging, many synagogues nationwide are preparing to welcome congregants for in-person holiday services for the first time in two years and are juggling to keep...
Beyond the hamantash: Traditional Purim dishes tell the story of Diaspora life
Megillat Esther, or the Scroll of Esther, read on the upcoming holiday of Purim, describes the Jewish people’s escape from annihilation in Persia in the fifth century BCE. But really, it’s a quintessential story...
Bringing Israeli food and culture into the Jewish New Year
American Jews are often criticized these days for distancing from Israel as a result of political considerations. To counteract that trend, the “Israel trip” has become a central way to positively interact with the...
A full 97 percent of Israeli Jews host or join a Seder
According to a Jewish People Policy Institute survey of 3,000 respondents, 97 percent of Israelis Jews say they either host or participate in a Passover Seder, compared to the 2013 Pew Study’s finding of...
50,000-plus worshippers travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah
Tens of thousands of Jews from around the world have arrived in Uman, Ukraine, to spend Rosh Hashanah near the tomb of spiritual leader Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. The two-day holiday begins on the...
This Passover, a song of thanks
It’s hard to believe that only a year has passed since Passover of 5780 (2020). Since the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gafner of blessed memory reinstated the tradition of the Priestly Blessing some 50...
5,000 Christians show their support for Israel at Jerusalem’s 64th Sukkot march
This year, more than 5,000 Christians from all parts of the world gathered on Thursday for the city’s annual Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) festive march around Israel’s capital, which saw 10,000 participants in total.
The...
Finding the spirit of Jewish unity during the corona crisis
After managing to slow the onset of COVID-19, Israel is now beginning to record thousands of new cases on a daily basis. While Efrat, a small community mostly made up of former Americans, was...
Sukkot… Faith
Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur have passed. Each of us would like something from those days could remain for the rest of the year, not lose their influence and ensure a true sweet year...
Israel commemorates fallen heroes as state marks Memorial Day
Israel began marking Memorial Day on Monday night as a one-minute commemorative siren sounded across the country.
Fifty-nine Israeli soldiers fell in the line of duty in the past year, and an additional 86 disabled...