Jewish Learning

When in Rome…

(Image: Rabbi Jonathan Prosnit of Beth Am teaching kids) You’ve no doubt heard the saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’. This phrase dates back to the 4th century of the Common Era, but has remained in use because it continues to be relevant. When do you do things “your way” and when…

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Is Friday the 13th bad luck in Jewish tradition?

The short answer is a resounding NO. You might even say 13 is an auspicious number in Judaism. Gematria is the Jewish practice of assigning a numeric value to each letter in the alphabet. Through this method a word gains numbers and vis versa. For 13 you get the Hebrew word for “one” אחד. In…

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What Jews Believe

(A Torah scroll laid out for repair by a sofer, a Hebrew scribe) One of the things that bothers me a great deal is the believe by many (Jews and non-Jews) that there is a single true Jewish belief on everything from God to food. You can image how happy I was to see this…

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High Holy Day Services, New York, 1911

I love the Tenement Museum. I’ve been there several times – anytime I get to New York.  I signed up for their email and have attended their online tours. Their recent email has this fascinating image of a ticket.  Here is their description of this item. This High Holiday services ticket, currently on display on…

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