Heart and soul
Does it always rain on Sukkot, where you live? Here in South Africa, the farmers say as soon as the Jews put up their booths, the rains will come.
Besides the sukkah itself, on this...
Museum to open Southern Jewish Family Research Center
The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience (MSJE) in New Orleans will cut the ribbon on its new Southern Jewish Family Research Center (The Center) on Nov. 7. It is the first major expansion...
Bubbe and Zayde: Now’s the time to teach ‘di kinder’ a thing or two
“I don’t live in the past but the past lives in me.” — Sol Fineblum
For Gershon Markowitz, this time of year presents an irresistible opportunity to engage in some of his favorite activities with...
Chabad rabbis give Netanyahu Chassidic text printed in Lebanon
In a symbolic move on Tuesday, a delegation of Chabad-Lubvitch rabbis presented Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an early work of Chassidic philosophy by the first Chabad rabbi printed in various places in...
Rare archival photos document Sukkot in early years of Jewish state
In anticipation of the Sukkot holiday, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) is unveiling rare archival photos that capture how Sukkot was celebrated in Israel during its early years.
Among the four images, the oldest...
Lamenting, loving, leveling: A spiritual pathway through this year’s Jewish holidays
This year’s arc of holidays extending from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, and finally, to Simchat Torah—the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7 on the Jewish calendar—is laden with tears. How can we approach God...
Ethiopian Jewish holy books digitized in Jerusalem
A collection of rare holy books and manuscripts from the Ethiopian Jewish community written in Ge’ez, an ancient South Semitic language sometimes referred to as Classical Ethiopic, have been digitized and will be available online, the...
Horrors, hostages and heroes: The first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks
Hearts pounded with fear as sirens blared, rocket interceptions boomed across the sky as men, women and children ran for safety and their lives to nearby bomb shelters on the Jewish holiday of Simchat...
Braiding in the New Year
I always love the dramatic reveal when pulling the cover off the challah on Shabbat and holidays—anticipatory eyes lighting up around the room as the beautiful bread appears in all its shiny glory in...
‘There is no king without a people’: The mystic secret of Rosh Hashanah
Nowhere in the Five Books of Moses is the holiday of Rosh Hashanah referred to with this name by which it is commonly known today. The term “Rosh Hashanah” originated in the Talmudic period,...