How to THINk THIN for Shavuot
SAN DIEGO — Ahh, Shavuot is soon upon us. With its extended synagogue services, special readings including the story of Ruth and the 10 Commandments among others, Tikkun Leil Shavuot –the practice of staying...
Binghamton University to host alternative graduation ceremony for Jewish students
For the first time to date, Binghamton University will host an alternative graduation ceremony to accommodate observant Jewish students and their family members who would otherwise be unable to attend graduation.
In the past, commencement...
Dairy, first fruits and more: Welcoming Shavuot with customs of the season
I’ve often heard (and many rabbis lament) that Shavuot is the only major Jewish holiday many Diaspora Jews have never heard of or ever celebrated.
If you are one of these newbies to the holiday,...
Discovery of Bar Kochba-era coin declared at Lag B’Omer
As Jews across Israel and around the world celebrated Lag B’Omer, a holiday commemorating the life of anti-Roman Torah sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Israeli authorities announced that they had found a symbol of...
Hundreds of thousands make Lag B’Omer pilgrimage to Rebbe Shimon’s gravesite
Hundreds of thousands of Jews from around the world ascended to the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, lovingly called “Rebbe Shimon,” for Lag B’Omer on Wednesday night and through Thursday, marking the yahrtzeit of the...
In Israel, Lag B’Omer leads to Meron
The Torah lists three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. Yet the largest annual Jewish pilgrimage these days will take place this week during the lesser known holy day of Lag B’Omer, or the...
Today, 75 years of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising are commemorated. A history of resistance...
It is 75 years since the beginning of one of the most heroic deeds of the Jewish people: the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, during which less than a thousand Jews confronted the powerful Nazi army...
300 Intel drones to light skies over Jerusalem at Israel Independence celebration
Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, will join Israel for Wednesday night’s 70th-anniversary celebrations, bringing along 300 Intel drones to help put on a massive light show in the skies over Jerusalem.
“I am excited to...
College parties like no other, bringing Israel into the mix
In the weeks leading up to Yom Ha’aztmaut—Israel’s Independence Day—on April 19, pro-Israel students from more than 160 university campuses across North America have been holding parties and celebrations for the Jewish state’s 70th...
Walking in the footsteps of those who battled in 1948
Members of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli civilians are jointly commemorating the decisive battles of the 1948 War of Independence ahead of national celebrations of Israel’s 70th year of Independence.
“When you study the...