Articles tagged with: History
Geed Hanasheh—Sciatic Nerve
Geed hanasheh is the sciatic nerve, a sinew in the hip that Jews are forbidden to eat. Many know that kosher meat must be slaughtered and salted. Not many know about neekur, the intricate process that entails the removal of the animal’s forbidden parts, including the geed hanasheh. In fact, …
Shemot: Diaspora Judaism
Diaspora Judaism has been a problem for the community of nations from time immemorial. It is a unique phenomenon that only the Jew has experienced. Exiled from our country for nearly two thousand years, we stubbornly refused to assimilate and to dissipate. We clung tenaciously to our Jewish identity and …
Re’e: The Missing Festival
The festival of Sukkot falls on the fifteenth of Tishrei, two weeks into the new Jewish year. Accordingly, the Torah tells us, in Exodus 34:22, to celebrate Sukkot at the turn of the year. However, there is a discrepancy. Eleven chapters earlier, Exodus 23:16 told us to celebrate Sukkot at …
Tetzveh: Good to the Last Drop
Are you a first drop or a last drop kind of person? When you squeeze an olive, the first drop is the purest, the last drop is extracted from the dregs. A first drop kind of person, is a perfectionist; one who strives for purity and the best in all …
Passover: Chad Gadya
A Conflagration
Although the Chad Gadya is not part of the Chabad tradition, the melody holds universal appeal. In fact, one of my earliest Passover memories is learning this classic. My Bubbie’s Haggadah had beautiful illustrations and I spent many hours pouring over the pictures of the kid, cat, dog, stick …
Vayakhel Pekudei: To Carry Forward
To Raise a Child
If we look back on our upbringing, we will note that we are an amalgam of a huge family. We carry traits from our mothers, fathers, and grandparents. Some of our values were taught by our mothers, some by our fathers, and some by our grandparents. Some …
Shabbat Zachor: Memory Is A Bridge
Remember
Can you imagine driving down the street and suddenly realizing that you forgot where you are coming from? If you don’t know where you are coming from, you can’t know where you are going or why. Severed from the past, the present has no bridge to the future.
Ki Tisa; Don’t Fix It
If It Ain’t Broke
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, is a pithy saying from the American South The idea is that if something has a track record of success, don’t tinker with it.
Over the last few decades, the words ‘Jewish continuity’ has become a catchphrase. What can we do …
