Holidays

The Three Weeks determines the "who we are and how we live" as Jews.

It isn't beneath G-d to personally interfere in the workings of this world, to liberate a persecuted nation from the hand of their oppressors.

The 49 days between Passover and Shavou'ot are dedicated to enhancing one's behavior, following in the footsteps of the Jews, who forged/enhanced their own national character during the 40 years in the desert.

Amazingly, each and every blade was green and moist as if it was just freshly cut.

All the commentaries ask why Hashem focuses on the Exodus as opposed to saying, “I am Hashem who created the entire world.”

The following is President Obama's statement on Passover (April 14, 2014). As he has in the past, the President held an official Passover Seder at...

She was followed by the shadows of the Six Million, by the ever so subtle awareness of their vanished presence.

Marror is the reliving of the bitter enslavement and matzah is the under-eighteen-minutes redemption.

Rabbi David Bar-Hayim argues it is time for Ashkenazim to abandon the prohibition against Kitnyot. What do you think?

Sephardic Jews are very strict in not keeping hametz in their homes during Pesah.

The labor action has prevented the far-flung Israeli embassy from providing the much-needed goods for the Chabad-Lubavitch seder in Nepal -- a world-famous event that draws nearly a thousand people annually to Katmandu.

When battling Amalek, G-d hides His face and expects man to wage war for his own relevance.

What is the relationship between Purim and Pisces? In what way is Purim related to fish?

The battle on Purim was our war with Amalek; we know that Haman was a descendent of Amalek and we are commanded to annihilate that entire nation.

What's this Purim all about?

Rabbi Almosnino’s reading of the Biblical text might be compared with the way a prominent lawyer would read the most important contract of his career.

The Yom Kippur video message of Rav Bina, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh at the Kotel,

On Sunday, Jews will be refraining from food and drink from dawn until sunset to commemorate the Fast of Gedaliah.

Enjoy this” sweet” new idea for a “Sweet New Year”! A refreshing and very simple idea to finish off any Yom Tov meal.

I’m excited to introduce my new Sukkos decoration concept. I couldn’t help but notice the variety of interesting leathers and vinyls available on the market. Sorting through the many different colors and textures, it dawned on me that I could easily create Sukkos décor using one of my favorite combinations, leather and nail heads.

Some Lag BaOmer trivia you may not know.

Hashem's reason for redeeming us from Egypt was not so that we could be free, but so that we could be free to accept the Torah at Har Sinai and service Hashem.

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Purim is a time of great celebration. Many of our traditions for this chag require food - festive meals, mishloach manos. Abundant food can mean abundant pitfalls for the food allergic. How can one navigate this maze of food allergy landmines?

Here are some wonderful dishes to share with your family and friends this coming Purim

This Purim let your wine bottles join in the fun – let them dress up too! Use them to compliment your Mishloach Manos or have them make a grand appearance at the seudah. Simple and inexpensive this is a great family project.

Unlike Chanukah’s oil and Shavuous’ dairy, Purim doesn’t specifically have any unique foods or tastes, aside from hamentashen, that one can work around from, so the best route for a stylish Purim theme is to base it around the costume.

A congregant once told me that he was spending a large amount of time trying to explain Judaism to a coworker. His colleague thought that all Jewish holidays had the same theme, and he proudly summarized this theme at his family's two-minute Seder: "They tried to kill us, Hashem saved us, we won, now let's eat!!" He proudly bragged that this sentence was the family's personal, abbreviated Haggadah.

Yom Hadin is almost here and this time of year brings with it a range of emotions. Some people are excited - a new year, the start of school, new clothing. For others, Rosh Hashanah instills fear - the need to correct wrongdoings, to beg for forgiveness and make promises to be better. For still others, there is a feeling of being overwhelmed - either by the awe of the Yom Hadin or perhaps the reality of so many days of Shabbos, Yom Tov, Shabbos (that's a lot of cooking and baking). We are often so busy taking care of all the “things" that need to be done, that we don’t have enough time for spiritual and emotional preparation. It feels like most years I come to Selichos feeling as if I haven't done enough to prepare.

An elderly carpenter was eagerly preparing for retirement. When he informed his employer/contractor of his plans, the employer asked him if he could do him a personal favor and build one more house before he left. After so many years of working together the carpenter felt he could not refuse, and so he begrudgingly agreed. It quickly became apparent that the carpenter’s heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and he used inferior quality materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.