Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Jewish Holidays resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.
“Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days more joyous than the 15th of Av (Tu B'Av) and Yom Kippur, for on those days the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed white clothing, in order not to embarrass those who did not have...…
Judaism places great emphasis on the proper greeting of people. The Talmudic term for a greeting, a sheilat shalom, invokes a reference to G-d, peace being one of the attributes of G-d. It is thus forbidden to greet people in the bathhouse or…
One could quite reasonably make the argument that the overarching goal of the Torah is the establishment of a Jewish state that will serve as a model for the world. A nation that demonstrates that one based on the most exacting of ethical standards…
A few years ago while on a visit to Israel, my good friend Michael Levenstein z”l, in whose memory this devar Torah is dedicated, was giving my wife and me a lift back to our hotel. While we were stuck in a traffic jam in Jerusalem, Michael, noting…
Megillat Rut is a book of great charm and important lessons, but it's seeming simplicity hides some of the subtleties of it's beauty and depth. Join us as we take a careful look at the characters and major themes of this most lovely and…
Moshe Rabbeinu was our teacher par excellence. As a great pedagogue, he understood the importance of teaching subject material in a timely manner. “Moses enacted for the Jewish people that they should inquire and expound upon the matter of the day: …
The eating of karpas has long baffled our commentators. Why exactly do we dip a vegetable in salt water just as we are ready to begin the seder? Is karpas meant as the appetizer to the most elaborate meal of the year, or does its…
“In the first month of the second year on the first of the month, the Tabernacle was erected” (Shemot 40:2). Sefer Shemot concludes with the building of the Mishkan. As the Ramban notes (Introduction to Shemot), the Mishkan was the…
Rare is the person who has the opportunity to knowingly shape the course of Jewish history. Most are happy to be relieved of that responsibility. From Moshe to Yonah, Yirmiyahu to Esther, few are willing to carry such awesome responsibility on their…