Jewish Holidays

Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Jewish Holidays resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.

Chanukah: The Dark Days of Winter

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Of all our holidays, only that of Chanukah begins in the second half of the month. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Shavuot occur towards the beginning of the month, when the moon is growing stronger. Pesach, Sukkot, Purim (at least in Jerusalem), Tu b…
Article
Dec 11, 2015

V'zot HaBracha: It Too is a Blessing

Rabbi Jay Kelman

In one of the great mistakes in history, Alfred Nobel was lucky enough to read his own obituary—a result of an error of an editor who printed Alfred’s obituary instead of that of his recently deceased brother. Reading himself described…
Article
Oct 4, 2015

Sukkot: From Eisav to Shmitta

Rabbi Jay Kelman

"And you shall dwell in sukkot for seven days, all citizens of Israel shall dwell in a sukkah so that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your G…
Article
Sep 27, 2015

Judaism and Forgiveness

Dr. Elliott Malamet

Audio
Sep 25, 2015

Yom Kippur: It's Not My Fault

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The two central and most important tefillot of Yom Kippur are the yud gimmel middot harachamim, the 13 Attributes of mercy, and the al chets, the listing of the sins we (may have) committed during the previous year. The former focus on G-d while the…
Article
Sep 22, 2015

Rosh Hashanah: A Great Gift!

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Teshuva tefillah, utzedkaha ma’aveerim et roah hagezeirah - repentance, prayer and tzedakah remove the evil of the decree.   Prayer is a great gift from G-d[1]. That the Divine allows human beings, full of sin to approach Him and beseech Him is…
Article
Sep 13, 2015

Tisha B'Av Through the Eyes of Josephus

Rabbi Yechiel Goldreich

Audio
Jul 28, 2015

Rebuilding the Foundation: Three Strategies for the Third Temple

Rabbi Rafi Lipner

Audio
Jul 27, 2015

Making Tough Decisions: A Close Reading of the Destruction Narrative

Sarah Cheses

Audio
Jul 27, 2015

The Three Weeks: Through the Eyes of a Child

Rabbi Jay Kelman

With the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian exile, the period of prophecy came to an end. "Only fools and children continue to prophesize", the Talmud (Bava Batra 12b) declares. While the link between modern-day prophets and…
Article
Jul 5, 2015