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…
The JCS Torah Scroll: Purim-Torah. What a Megillah When Adar comes in, joy increases. On Purim we engage in Purim-Torah: jokes and irreverent teachings that blur the differences between the sacred and the profane. The Jewish Chaplaincy Society has wanted a Torah Scroll of its own since its inception in 2002. Every once in a while, I would check out…