What Is Tu Be’Av? Isn’t Av Supposed to be a Mournful Month? Originally published July 20-21, 2018
We do tend to get serious during the month of Av, but in the middle of the month is Tu Be’Av, the Day of Love! The fifteenth day of the month of Av, ט"ו באב, was, according to the Mishnah (Ta’anit 4:8), a joyous holiday back in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, to […]
What All Are We Supposed to Do on Tish’ah Be’Av (Beginning July 21)? Originally published July 13-14, 2018
We have heard why we observe Tish’ah Be’Av, the day in history on which so many negative things have befallen us. But sometimes we lose track of all that we are supposed to do in observance. For one thing, this is the only other full-day fast - besides Yom Kippur - that we observe. This […]
Who was Marc Chagall (1887-1985)? Originally published July 6-7, 2018
Marc Zakharovich Chagall was born on July 7, 1887, in Vitebsk, Belarus, Russia. He was an artist. After studying from 1907-1910 in Saint Petersburg at the Imperial Society for the Protection of the Arts and at the Svanseva School with Léon Bakst (artist/scenic designer whose original name was Lev Samoylovich Rosenberg), Chagall moved to Paris […]
Who was Joseph Achron (1886-1943)? Originally published June 29-30, 2018
If you were fortunate enough to attend the concert this past Monday, in which the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival, along with Chamber Music Pittsburgh, Rodef Shalom, and the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, presented “Hebrew Melodies,” featuring Tehila Nini Goldstein, soprano, and various members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, you heard some seldom-heard music. […]
What was the Mahzor Vitri? Originally published June 22-23, 2018
Last week, in discussing Mi Shebeirakh, we mentioned that it first appeared in the 13th century, in the Mahzor Vitri. So what is that book? Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry (sometimes spelled Vitri), who died before 1105 CE, compiled this book - a liturgical and legal compendium, the British Library calls it - to include […]
What Is a “Mi Shebeirakh”? Originally published June 15-16, 2018
Near the end of the Torah reading part of a service, someone pulls out a “Mi Shebeirakh” list. Just what is that? We colloquially make these words into a noun or an adjective - we say a “Mi Shebeirakh” or we have a “Mi Shebeirakh list.” The words themselves mean “[May the One] Who blessed,” […]
What Are All These Words About Mourning? Originally published June 8-9, 2018
When, in the course of life, someone passes away, Jewish tradition has many words which get bandied about. Here are a few, may you be blessed not to have to use them. Let’s jump right in, after a person has died. Tahara is the ritual washing of a body prior to burial. After this purification […]
What Was Manna from Heaven Made Of? Originally published June 1-2, 2018
In this week’s parashah (portion of the Torah) we read about manna. It is described as a fine, scale-like thing, fine as the hoar-frost on the ground (hoar-frost is a greyish frozen dew), and it is also described as white coriander seed. Manna would fall over night, and it was collected each morning (except on […]
What Is an Aufruf? Originally published May 25-26, 2018
An aufruf is a formal presentation to the congregation of the intended couple very soon to be married. The word is Yiddish, אויפרוף (often pronounced OYF-roof), and in its verb form it is אויפרופן. (We could do a box just on Yiddish pronunciation in various areas of the world!) We pronounce it here in our […]
What Do Babies Have to Do with Shavu’ot? Originally published May 18-19, 2018
Many think of Shavu’ot as the time for graduations, and that it is! We also celebrate the spiritual awakening of our people with the giving and receiving of the Torah. (Also we eat cheesecake because it is rich and sweet like the words of Torah.) And we celebrate the “new fruits” of the season. Shavu’ot […]