Felonious Monk is celebrating Tu Bishvat with a (daydream) hike in the Holyland! He is resting against an olive tree that is hundreds of years old. He reflects on how peaceful it is here with an ancient symbol of peace (remember the dove and the olive branch from the story of Noah?). He says a quiet prayer asking peace for…
Let me teach you a bit about the origins of the food customs associated with the eight days of Hanukkah – potato latkes. Early texts recount the rebellion, the recapture of the temple and rededication ceremony, but references to the “miracle” connected to Hanukkah do not appear until nearly 600 years later. We learn that the remaining supply of consecrated…
Passover or Pesach is the second most important holy day of the Jewish year and The Seder is the most commonly celebrated Jewish ritual, performed by Jews all over the world. Passover commemorates the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt and the “passing over” of the forces of destruction, or the sparing of the firstborn of the Israelites, when…
Every 14th day of Adar on the Hebrew calendar Jewish people celebrate Purim. It’s a joyous holiday that marks the time the Persian Jewish population was saved from genocide. Okay, while Purim does have rather dark underpinnings, it really is supposed to be a fun celebration of survival full of wine, noisemakers and hamantaschen – the triangle cookie-like pastry with…
The Basic Purim StoryA Brief Retelling of the Book of Esther (Megillah) A Fateful Party It all began in Ancient Persia in the fourth century BCE. The Holy Temple that had stood in Jerusalem was destroyed more than 50 years earlier, and the Jews were subjects of the mighty Persian empire that extended over 127 lands. Three years after…
The Law of Return is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews the right to come and live in Israel and to gain Israeli citizenship. Section 1 of the Law of Return declares: “every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh [immigrant].” Wikipedia and become an Israeli citizen. For the purposes of…
Rosh HashanahThe Jewish New Year, the beginning of ten days of penitence or teshuvah culminating on Yom Kippur. Traditionally celebrated with sweet or round foods such as apples and honey, and the blowing of the shofar, a hollowed-out ram’s horn, during religious services. A customary greeting is shanah tovah or “happy new year!” Yom KippurThe Day of Atonement; a very solemn day devoted to fasting,…
Jews are one of the most ancient peoples in the world. Jewish history is recorded in the Bible, by historians outside of the Bible, and through archeology. We have more facts about Jewish history than that of any other nation – which we will use to build a timeline to summarize the history of the Jews. Abraham: The Jewish Family…
The Hebrew calendar (Hebrew: הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, HaLuah HaIvri), also called Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits (dates to commemorate the death of a relative), and daily Psalm readings, among many ceremonial uses. In Israel, it is used…