I've Always Wondered
What is the History of the Kippah? Originally published March 23-24, 2018

Basically, a kippah covers one’s head. While there is no mandate to do so in the Torah, one early reference to head covering is in Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin 31a, in which a rabbi would not walk bare-headed more than four cubits without a head covering, as the Divine Presence is above his head.  The Shulkhan […]

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I've Always Wondered
Why do we sing “OH-zee v’zimrat ya”? What is that vowel, anyway? Originally published March 16-17, 2018

Last week’s column sparked questions about Hebrew vowels, especially about the vowel that looks like a tiny “T” and is pronounced by many Conservative Jews as “ah” and by many Orthodox Jews as “oo” as in “look” or “u” as in “put” (in the International Phonetic Alphabet it is ʊ). Called a kamatz, it turns […]

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I've Always Wondered
Why Don’t Jews Pass the Collection Plate on Shabbat? Originally published March 9-10, 2018

Harkening back to the days of tithing, when Jews (and evidence shows also the Babylonians and Ugarit) would set aside one-tenth of what they had, had earned, or had taken in (there were varying definitions), this question prompts us to look at the contributions which support our religious goings-on. We might, as some do, refer […]

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I've Always Wondered
Is a Haftarah Like a Half-Torah? Originally published March 2-3, 2018

NO!  Even though the haftarah reading is associated with the Torah reading, the word does not mean “half-Torah,” and it should not be pronounced “huff-TOE-ruh.” So what is a haftarah (plural haftarot)?  I was taught that it is dessert, after the meal of the Torah reading.   The word הפטרה  refers to our taking leave of the […]

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I've Always Wondered
Why Do We Do Relevé During Kedushah? Originally published February 23-24, 2018

The Kedushah, the third berakhah of the Amidah, comes in several forms in and out of the Amidah, but always has “kadosh, kadosh, kadosh Adonai tzeva’ot…” and “barukh kavod Adonai…”  These lines quote Isaiah and Ezekiel, respectively. Tzeva’ot is often translated as “hosts,” and literally means “armies.”  It also may refer to those who “serve” […]

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I've Always Wondered
What is a Gabbai? Originally published February 16-17, 2018

Generally speaking, a gabbai (feminine:  gabba’it) is appointed to serve to distribute honors for a service and to conduct (stage manage) some of the ritual. Over time, similar jobs in various places and times have been done by a shamash or a sexton.  Some places even have had “beadles,” but that leads to too much […]

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I've Always Wondered
Why Did My Loved One’s Yahrzeit Change? Originally published February 9-10, 2018

The months of Adar, Heshvan, and Kislev have variable numbers of days - either 29 or 30.  Also, in leap years, we have a whole extra month.  We don’t add Adar II, though, for leap year, we add Adar I.  (This distinction is especially important because it governs when Purim happens!) This has generated certain calculations, […]

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I've Always Wondered
What is Pirkei Avot? Originally published February 2-3, 2018

Pirkei Avot פרקי אבות‬)), which translates to Chapters of the Fathers, consists of the ethical teachings which were passed down (it says) from Moses through Joshua, the “elders,” and the prophets, to the Great Assembly, to the first generations of rabbis. It is a part of the Mishnah, but rather than covering Jewish law, it […]

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I've Always Wondered
What are tefillin and why is that shin wonky? Originally published January 26-27, 2018

“Tefillin” is actually plural for tefillah, prayer, but the concept is really neither singular nor plural.  The tefillin, which are also called “phylacteries” (a Greek word deriving from “to guard”), are two small black leather boxes with parchment scrolls inside containing verses from the Torah.  One box is made for placing on the forehead (“shel […]

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I've Always Wondered
What is all the pomp and circumstance in the Torah service? Part 2 of 2 (last week had Part 1) Originally published January 19-20, 2018

The Sefer Torah is the only book we decorate with velvet mantel, velvet gartel (the belt that goes around its waist, literally “belt” in Yiddish), and sometimes silver crown and breastplate.  Sometimes we sew semi-precious stones to the mantel or affix them to the breastplate.  We parade the scroll before and after reading it (parading […]

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