A Cornucopia of Horns? Originally Published March 29-30, 2019.
Each year the ba’al toke’a (horn blower, בעל תוקע, sometimes called ba’al teki’ah, בעל תקיעה) takes out his/her shofar and begins practicing up for the High Holidays. The shofar is sounded during the entire month of Elul at the end of the weekday morning service (be there at minyan!) except on 29 Elul. The shofar […]
What Is a Bimah? Originally Published March 22-23, 2019.
A bimah (בִּימָה) is an elevated platform. Used in a synagogue it is, in church English, a pulpit. In modern Hebrew “bimah” also refers to a stage. In ancient and Orthodox churches, it is also used to refer to a pulpit (bema). It was also the term used in ancient Athens for a orator’s platform. […]
I Forget, Who Was Amalek? Originally Published March 15-16, 2019
This is Shabbat Zakhor, named after the first word of the snippet of Parashat Ki Tetse we read this week as the maftir aliyah. It recalls Amalek’s ambush of the tired people of Israel just after we crossed the Yam Suf, the Sea of Reeds. Attacking was a nasty thing to do, and as we […]
Why Does the Berakhah Mention One Candle When We Light More? Originally Published March 8-9, 2019
When we say a berakhah on the lighting of a candle, it is different from other berakhot. It is one blessing in which we do the deed first and say the berakhah afterwards. (We do this especially on Shabbat and holidays because the blessing is said to be what starts Shabbat or the holiday, not […]
What Is Shabbat Shekalim? Originally Published March 1-2, 2019.
Shekalim (שְׁקָלִים) is the fourth tractate in the order of Mo’ed, which deals with the annual half-shekel tax collected for the maintenance of the Temple and its services, and other attending appurtenances. A shekel is a unit of currency, having begun its life as a unit of weight of gold or silver. In the third […]