Sukkot is one of the three Jewish pilgrimage festivals—that means very important! It’s fun for kids and adults alike. Imagine building a playhouse + decorating for an autumn festival + picnicking outside — you’ve got Sukkot. How do you get started with the fun? Come to a no-experience-needed gathering to learn about Sukkot. You’ll leave…
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Tisha B’Av: Mourning the Destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem
When we look at this photograph of a relief on the Arch of Titus celebrating his siege and destruction of Jerusalem, that historical event can feel as old and foreign as the stones depicting it. Yet for Jews the idea of ‘never forget’ is not a new one. Jews remember the events of the past,…
Read More »Laws & Customs of Tisha B’Av
Laws and Customs of the three Weeks, the Nine Days & Tisha B’Av The 17th of Tammuz, commemorating the fall of Jerusalem prior to the destruction of the Temple, marks the beginning of a 3 week national period of mourning culminating with the 9th of Av. The five events which we mourn on the 17th…
Read More »Just for Fun – Imaginary Jewish Summer Holidays
I’ve told you before that Judaism is old, very, very old. The Jewish calendar still functions as though we are all heading out to tend the herds and the crops each summer. But a couple of writers have come up with some new (humorous) Jewish summer holidays. Here’s one for all of us with kids….
Read More »An Israeli Shavuot Food/Craft
Fun and delicious – make them with friends or children! One of the best ways Israelis enjoy celebrating Shavuot in Israel is to prepare tene bikkurim, a basket filled with greens, fruit and other treats, which symbolizes the first yield of the agricultural year. Children in Israel participate in parades wearing white clothing, each one…
Read More »Shavuot
As with all Jewish holidays, Shavuot begins at sundown. It is one of the three pilgrimage festivals. It is commanded in the Torah and was observed as a pilgrimage in ancient times – all Jews were to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice. It is described in the Torah as a…
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