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…
Read More »Jewish Learning
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 »Yom HaShoah
This year — 2013/5773 — Holocaust Memorial Day begins at sunset on April 7. Community observances will take place from April 7 to April 10 around the bay. Anyone is welcome to attend any of the memorials and you should expect large crowds. We still have among us the generation who lived through the Holocaust,…
Read More »When does Passover end?
In Israel the three Festivals are 7 days long. The Festivals, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot, were the times when the ancient Israelites traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem to make sacrifices, as commanded in the Torah (five books of Moses). In Israel today the Festivals are still observed for 7 days. When the ancient Temple…
Read More »We need to make it a FAST Seder! Now what?
There is a 30 minute Seder that you can buy online — regular size, large type and downloadable. They even have music you can order. Look at the website and see if it works for you. The 30 Minute Seder Here’s a 10 minute Seder by Rabbi Yonah Bookstein A 5 minute Seder here. Here’s…
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