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9 Ways to Celebrate Lag BaOmer from Home
Among La BaOmer’s many facets are agricultural aspirations, a release from mourning, celebration of Torah learning, and mindfulness of religious suppression. Here are nine ways to celebrate safely in the time of coronavirus.
What Will It Take for Israel to Be Redeemed?
Israel Independence Day celebrates the oneness of the Jewish people in all its colorful diversity. What if we carried that spirit with us every day?
10 Ways to Celebrate Yom YaAtzmaut from Home
There are plenty of ways to observe Yom HaAtzmaut from home during this time of quarantine. Choose one or all of the following options to celebrate and demonstrate your love of Israel on the anniversary of her independence!
Tu BiShvat: Judaism and the Environment
During Tu BiShvat, we focus our attention towards the environment and environmental issues.
Tu BiShvat: Customs and Rituals
The Jewish mystics of the 17th century, the Kabbalists, created a special ritual—modeled after the Passover seder—to celebrate God's presence in nature. Today in modern Israel, Tu BiShvat has become a national holiday, a tree planting festivaTu BiShvat is not mentioned in the Torah. Scholars believe the holiday was originally an agricultural festival, corresponding to the beginning of spring in Israel. But a critical historical event helped Tu BiShvat evolve from a simple celebration of spring to a commemoration of our connection to the land of Israel. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and the exile that followed, many of the exiled Jews felt a need to bind themselves symbolically to their former homeland. Tu BiShvat served in part to fill that spiritual need. Jews used this time each year to eat a variety of fruits and nuts that could be obtained from Israel. The practice, a sort of physical association with the land, continued for many centuries.l for both Israelis and Jews throughout the world
Tu BiShvat: History
Although the celebration of Tu BiShvat has a long and varied history, the theme most commonly ascribed to the holiday today is the environment.
Lag BaOmer: History
Lag BaOmer is a shorthand way of saying the 33rd day of the Omer. (The numerical value of the Hebrew letter lamed is 30, and the value of gimel is three; lamed and gimel together are pronounced “lahg.”) In addition to tracking the agricultural cycle, the Omer marks the seven-week period from Passover, which commemorates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt, to Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Counting of the Omer: Blessings for Each Day
The period between Passover and Shavuot is called the “Counting of the Omer” ( Sefirat Ha'omer).
Five Ways to Observe Yom HaZikaron Outside Israel
Though most of us in North America don’t have the same connection to those who have died in service to Israel, we can still observe Israeli Memorial Day as we mourn from afar.