In 1776, as the American founding fathers, convened in Philadelphia, were laying the groundwork for independence, Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her husband, future president John Adams: “Remember the ladies, and be more generous...
In 1985, as a rabbinical student in Jerusalem, I attended Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) observances at Yad Va-Shem, where I heard memorial addresses by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira and Sefardi Chief Rabbi (Rishon...
The biblical Song of Songs is chanted on the intermediate Sabbath of Passover… or on the seventh day of Passover when it falls on Shabbat, as it does tomorrow.
Among the most beloved elements of the Passover Seder is the treatment of the Afikomen… the final half-piece of Matzah tasted at the Seder. The Afikomen is created at “Yachatz” – then set aside for later...
Passover preparations are even more complicated than usual this year, as Erev Pesach falls on Shabbat… with the First Seder held Saturday night. That calendrical pattern will occur twelve times in the twenty-first century… as...
This Shabbat, we conclude the Book of Exodus. Whenever, in our weekly Torah Reading cycle, we finish a Book of the Torah, we offer the blessing, “Chazak, Chazak, Ve-Nitchazek! – Be strong, be strong, and let...
Translation of Hebrew into the vernacular has long played a critical role in Jewish communal and spiritual life. The principle “ShnayimMikraV’Echad Targum” prescribes that we review each...
Purim this year coincides with “Pi Day” (March 14), so called because that date’s numerical representation (3.14) matches the irrational number “Pi” – the ratio of a circle’s diameter to its circumference: 3.14159265358979….
Among the requisite observances of Purim is the Seudah: a festive meal or feast held in celebration of the holiday and the miracles it commemorates. At the Purim Seudah, “Purim Torah” – satire and pointed humor...
The “Kiddush” generally recited over wine at Shabbat lunch – or in a congregational setting following Shabbat morning worship – is referred to as “Kiddusha Rabba” – “The Great Kiddush.” The nomenclature is ironic. Both...
