Winning The Fight In the beginning of this week’s Torah reading, Parshat Vayishlach, Yaakov returns to his homeland where his brother Eisav is preparing to attack him with four hundred […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz I sometimes find myself committing aveirot (sins) that serve no real purpose for me, such as gossiping about people. I understand why I desire physical pleasures, but what is driving me […]
One of the hardest of the Ten Commandments is the direction that we not be jealous. Not killing, not stealing, not worshiping idols? I think most of us feel pretty […]
Why is the first haircut so significant in Jewish tradition? When a Jewish man receives a haircut, he must be sure not to completely remove his pe’ot (side locks). The […]
First Haircut Chalakah or Upsherin1 refers to the Jewish custom of cutting a boy’s hair at his third birthday.2 In many Jewish communities, they refrain from cutting a young boy’s […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Every year, as we light our menorah, my children express their disappointment that our little flames seem so insignificant next to all the […]
Power Prayers On each day of Chanukah, we recite the full Hallel during Shacharit prayers. This beautiful tefillah, often sung, is a heartfelt expression of praise and gratitude to Hashem […]
How? On the first night of Chanukah, one candle is lit. Each night after that, one candle is added to the menorah so that by the eighth night, eight candles […]
Who’s Who? Jewish Year/Secular Year Event 0/3760 BCE Creation of the World 2448/1312 BCE Hashem takes the Jews out of Egypt and gives them the Torah at Har Sinai 2928/832 […]
Chanukah is a joyful eight-day holiday celebrated in early winter, usually in December. It commemorates events that took place nearly 2,200 years ago! Back then, the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) […]
