This week’s haftorah chronicles the birth of Samson to the childless Manoah and his wife of Tribe Dan. A visiting angel informs the mother-to-be that her son is to be a lifetime Nazirite, and as such, forbade her from taking part in food or wine [...]
Author’s note: I’ve been deeply involved in Jewish communal life in several different communities in three different states. Over the next few months, I will be sharing my insider observations about how synagogues function and why we need a new model. I’m “Jane Doe” because if I say who I am, there will be massive [...]
In this week’s haftorah, some of the many (and I do mean many) specifications of the rights and responsibilities of the kohanim are iterated in painstaking detail from how they shall dress in the Temple, to whom they may marry (sorry, no divorcees), to personal care rituals like when and how much they must [...]
What so many of us know about the holiday of Purim is what we can remember from the reading of the Megilah, getting to scream and yell in Synagogue, and, well, getting really…really….lit. Nothing like a Jewish holiday where we are actually supposed to get drunk and party. Yes. It’s the Jewish Mardi Gras. All [...]
During the month of Shevat, we have a special Shabbat — Shabbat Shirah, which the Shabbat where we read Parsha Beshalach (Ex 13:17-17:16). There are many named Shabbatot during the year, Shabbat Gadol, Shabbat Shuvah, etc. etc. Shabbat Shirah is more than just a Shabbat where we read a “special” Torah portion, I mean — [...]
