High Holiday challenge for college kids: Finding their (spiritual) home away from home
Spending the High Holidays away from home can be a lonely experience.
And, sadly, without the family around, many a Jewish college student simply ignores the call of the shofar—even the apples and honey—and attends...
Record number of Jews visit Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av, despite riots
Riots erupted on the Temple Mount on Sunday, as Muslims celebrating Eid al-Adha (“Festival of Sacrifice”) attempted to prevent Jews from entering. Police ultimately pushed back against the protesters to allow a record-breaking number...
Condensing Our Victimhood (Tisha Be’Av 5779)
Tisha Be’Av is not only the saddest Jewish holiday, it’s also the ultimate Jewish jinx. According to the Mishna (Ta’anit 4:6), five calamities happened to the Jewish People on that fateful day: Moses’ Spies...
Tisha B’Av 101: Connecting the dots of Jewish memory
Memory and imagination: The two keys that unlock the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av.
In fact Tisha B’Av, a holiday many Jews are unfamiliar with, is all about memory, the collective memory of the Jewish...
Lodz, Poland hosts its first-ever Jewish festival
The Polish city of Lodz hosted its first-ever Jewish celebratory event, “The Festival of Tranquility,” over the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
Organized by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland, in collaboration...
This Shavuot study focused on two other women
It was Erev Shavuot on Saturday evening, June 8. Once again we were talking about two women in the Bible during the customary evening study session at Tifereth Israel Synagogue.
This time, however, the two...
Shavuot for kids: Giving a new generation the gift of Torah
It’s one of the most dramatic scenes in the Torah, as amazing as the splitting of the sea.
Imagine the Master of the Universe coming down to Earth in an astounding fireworks display of thunder,...
On Shavuot, savor the dairy, but don’t forget the grains
Historically, Shavuot is the celebration of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai more than 3,300 years ago. It begins seven weeks after the first day of Passover. Agriculturally, it...
Braving Israeli heat wave, hundreds of thousands flock to Meron for Lag B’Omer
Despite a massive heat wave, thousands converged on the northern Israeli town of Meron from Wednesday night through Thursday to celebrate Lag B’Omer at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author of...
An Independence Day tour of Israel
Just 71 years ago, Israel declared its independence based on several factors:
*God promised the Land of Israel to the Jews in the Bible – echoed in the Christian Bible and even (gasp!) in the...