Selichot Prayers: Preparing for Rosh Hashanah
The month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, known as Elul, is a particular time of repentance, introspection, and preparation for what everyone hopes is a good year ahead. Go into any synagogue and the shofar is played at the end each morning which only happens during Elul, in order to wake up the soul in […]
Yom Kippur and the Book of Jonah
The story of the errant prophet Jonah and his notoriously hungry whale is one of the world’s most beloved Bible stories. Clocking in with just 47 verses, Jonah is one of the shortest books in the Tanach. So what message in this little book is so important that we read it on Yom Kippur? What […]
Our Sukkot Guests: The Ushpizin
“Ushpizin” in Aramaic translates into “guests”, but who are these guests we invite in? Every night for seven nights we ask a different Jewish biblical leader to visit us. In Jewish tradition it is said that Avraham, Yitzchak (Isaac), Yaakov (Jacob), Moshe (Moses), Aaron, Yosef (Joseph), and King David come down from the heavens and […]
Everything to Know about Lighting Shabbat Candles
It’s hard to think of something more iconic and more uniquely Jewish than lighting Shabbat candles to welcome in the Day of Rest. Historically, ornate Shabbat candlesticks have been among the most popular and traditional gifts for a young woman as she reached the age of Bat Mitzvah or on the occasion of her wedding. And […]
