Displaying 1 - 10 of 18
Galilee Diary: Why is This Night Different?
"Tu" (the Hebrew abbreviation of 15th) in the month of Shvat was set (Hillel's opinion generally overrules Shammai's) as the beginning of the tithable year for tree fruit: Calculating the tithe on fruit starts again for fruit that sets after that date.
Happy Tu BiShvat: Environmental Responsibility in the Berkshires
During the wintertime, I try to drive up to the Berkshires as much as possible. As an assistant director at URJ Crane Lake Camp, I don’t get so much time to enjoy all that the Berkshires has to offer during the summer
Planting and Parenting: The Lessons of Tu BiShvat
Here is the quintessential Jewish question: How do we emulate God? We are told that we were created by God. We are told that we have a divine spark within us.
S’firat HaOmer: The Omer Period in Jewish Life
The mechanism to connect the Exodus with the giving of the Torah is a simple one-counting the days.
Lag BaOmer Turns Tragedy into Triumph
There are various explanations for why this particular date is special. One suggests that a plague that caused the death of thousands of Rabbi Akiva's students ended on Lag BaOmer.
Lag BaOmer: A Highlight of My Life in Israel
After Passover, we noticed that our 11-year-old son disappeared after school for hours at a time. When we asked him about what he was doing, he divulged few details.
Oops, I Forgot to Count the Omer!
What to do? Give up? Sigh and think, “I’m a bad Jew”? Never!
Why Count the Omer? Five Reasons (and Counting!)
Counting the Omer is a mitzvah through which we count the days from, Passover to Shavuot.
11 Delicious Kugel Recipes for Shavuot and Beyond
The Jewish festival of Shavuot – literally meaning “weeks – originally began as a pilgrimage festival seven weeks after Passover that marked the beginning of the summer wheat harvest.
Shavuot, When We Became Who We Are
Rabbinic tradition teaches that when God spoke at Sinai, the world was silenced - birds did not sing, breezes did not rustle leaves in the trees. Out of that profound silence came the word, and were the world silent again, for even an instant, we could hear the everlasting echo of God's voice.