The early eighteenth century Ger Tzedek of Vilna, Avraham ben Avraham, is one of history’s most celebrated converts to Judaism. He was born to the powerful Potocki family – Polish nobility famous for its leadership in the military, government, and Roman Catholic Church. While the Ger Tzedek is commonly referred to as Valentine Potocki, there is no record of his given name until an 1873...
All beginning students of Torah face this obstacle: in their original, the primary texts of our Jewish tradition have no punctuation. There are neither commas nor periods in the Torah scroll, the Sefer Torah. There are no question marks, nor are there indications of where one paragraph ends and another begins in standard...
KIBBUTZ GINEGAR, Israel (JTA) – As the song “Golden Youth” by kibbutz folk band Gevatron played in an outdoor alcove beneath this farm village’s community center on Wednesday afternoon, choreographer Tamar Danin, 15, gently instructed her charges — a dozen girls, ages 9-13 — on the stretches and tambourine tapping they will be doing at a performance Saturday evening to open the Shavuot holiday.
It is customary to design the Challah used for Shavuot topped with a decorative ladder of five rungs, shaped in the dough. The five rungs represent the Five Books of Moses – the Torah, given by God and celebrated on the Festival. Some customarily light five candles on the eve of Shavuot for the same reason.
The Hebrew word for “ladder” is “sulam” – samekh-lamed-mem. ...
All beginning students of Torah face this obstacle: in their original, the primary texts of our Jewish tradition have no punctuation. There are neither commas nor periods in the Torah scroll, the Sefer Torah. There are no question marks, nor are there indications of where one paragraph ends and another begins in standard editions of the Talmud.
Limmud New Orleans, the group responsible for the bi-annual Limmudfest New Orleans Jewish learning sessions will be offering free online and in-person education opportunities today, prior to the onset of the Shavuot holiday.
“Step Into Shavuot ” is a joint project with Limmud with Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation and Congregation Beth Israel. The event will be held today, Sunday, May 16th from 3-5 p.m. CDT.
All beginning students of Torah face this obstacle: in their original, the primary texts of our Jewish tradition have no punctuation. There are neither commas nor periods in the Torah scroll, the Sefer Torah. There are no question marks, nor are there indications of where one paragraph ends and another begins in standard editions of the...
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about transitions and destinations. Perhaps this is because of my childhood memories. Back then, at precisely this time of year, my friends and I relished the approach of the end of the school year and the beginning of summer vacation. For us, school was merely a seemingly endless passage toward our longed-for destination, the...