Accoding to the Torah (Leviticus 23:40), the rituals of Sukkot include “taking” the fruit of a beautiful tree. What, exactly, fits this terse description is subject to dispute. Tradition maintains that the fruit in question is the citron, what the rabbis call...
Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Miserables serves as the story for one of the most successful theatrical musicals of all time, both on Broadway and London’s West End. But it also serves as a platform for considering a philosophical question about categorization. Jean...
Shavu’ot marks the giving of the Torah. Over the last one hundred fifty years archaeology, Egyptology, and Assyriology have yielded information that challenges the traditional view that Moses received the Torah at Sinai. The Talmud had already discussed whether that...
Each year rabbis are faced with Passover questions revolving around food products that were virtually unknown to earlier authorities. Rather than peremptorily forbid the product in question – a response that is easy – rabbis with integrity engage in research and...
Since its inception, Christianity included a significant stream of asceticism. John the Baptist is portrayed as a kind of hermit, content to live the life of a penniless vagabond. The Jesus of the Gospels does not exactly repudiate wealth, but neither does he promote...
In its discussion about preparing for Passover, the Talmud (Pesahim 4b) concludes that according to the Torah a verbal renunciation of all leaven in a Jew’s possession is all that is required in order to fulfill the Scriptural requirement to destroy all hametz....
The Passover Haggadah assures us that “all who enlarge upon the telling of the exodus from Egypt is praiseworthy.” But how one “enlarges” upon the story is unspecified. An early Midrash (Mekhilta, Bo, end) reports that Rabbi Eliezer ruled that a company of scholars...
The Torah portion the Rabbis assigned to Shemini Atzeret includes a brief description of the sacral calendar in which the three annual pilgrimage festivals are included. For Sukkot, the festival that immediately precedes Shemini Atzeret – an independent holiday – the...
The Mishnah (Sukkah 50b-51a) describes the festivities associated with the Water Libation Festival as a unique and unforgettable celebration. The most pious of celebrants would dance with torches and the Tosefta, cited by the Talmud (Sukkah 53a), details the words of...
Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Talmud says, each person’s earnings for the year are determined: all the more reason to pray for prosperity on Rosh Hashanah itself. The farmer would come to the synagogue and pray for a higher crop yield or increased animal...