Photo: Bnei Menashe immigrants in Shavei Israel’s absorption center in Achziv tasting a gefilte fish for the first time. Photo credits: Laura Ben David, courtesy of Shavei Israel. More than 500 Bnei Menashe immigrants from India, descendants of a lost tribe of Israel who made aliyah over the past year, are gearing up for…
By Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D. Rosh Hashanah is the time when Jews take stock of their lives and consider new beginnings. Perhaps the most significant and meaningful change that Jews should consider this year is a shift away from diets that have been having devastating effects on our health and the health of our…
MDA anticipates administering 10,000 Covid tests to ensure people returning from the grave of Rav Nachman of Breslov don’t further spread the Delta variant. Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s paramedic and Red Cross service, will be sending as many as 70 EMTs and paramedics to Ukraine, where they’ll be administering Covid tests to Orthodox…
Photo: One way or another, the holidays are all about food. Photo by Nati Shohat/Flash90 By Naama Barak You’d think that with summer finally being over and the kids firmly placed back in school, life would be back on track here in Israel. If only. This is because we’re gearing up toward one of…
The Orthodox Union’s (OU) Women’s Initiative has launched its virtual Yemei Ratzon program offering ideas and inspiration in preparation for the upcoming High Holidays. The program offers shiurim by world-renowned Torah scholars and a month-long learning series on Teshuvah, Tefillah, and Tzedakah. The shiurim series features a series of lectures on Selichot night August…
With a full moon in the night sky, it’s a perfect time to celebrate Tu B’Av, the Jewish Day of Love. The holiday starts this evening of July 23 at sundown and continues through July 24. Historically, Tu B’Av marked the beginning of the grape harvest and Yom Kippur marked the end. During the…
The Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s oldest and largest umbrella organization for the North American Orthodox Jewish community, said that its 20th annual Tisha B’Av program on Sunday, July 18 will not only focus on the traditional themes surrounding the destruction of both temples and other historical tragedies but this year will also mourn…
Shavuot begins the evening of May 16, 2021 Shavuot is a one-day holiday (two in the Diaspora) with many names, dozens of traditions and recipes galore. The hype surrounding the holiday – agricultural festivals at kibbutz and moshav communities, special lectures at synagogues and community centers, sales on everything white at shopping malls, cheaper…
The best-known quote from the Pesach Haggadah is, “why is this night different from all other nights?” Last year, this quote took on a whole new meaning with the onset of the pandemic and the realization that most of us would be having a virtual seder. This year, unless everyone in your group has…
Bakeshop owner Kim Boyce will team up with Rabbi Brian Zachary Mayer again this year to make matzah using a special recipe culled from the annals of the Spanish Inquisition. Called1503 Matzah, it is available for special order at Bakeshop in Portland. History of the recipe: In 1503 in Northern Spain, just like she did…
