Just about everyone in the Western world knows that Jerusalem is a city that is holy to Jews. However, there are four holy cities in Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel)! The Four Holy Cities are Jerusalem, Tzfat (also known as Safed), Tiberius, and Hebron. Jerusalem: Jerusalem is the center of the Jewish world. We […]
The Four Holy Cities of Israel Read Post »
In short, “chas v’shalom” is a Hebrew phrase that means “G-d forbid.” The Aruch HaShulchan says that it should be literally translated as “completely disgraced.” (“Shalom,” peace, literally means complete or whole.) You will hear it peppered throughout normal speech. Here is an example: “If I fail the bar exam, chas v’shalom, at least I get to
Phrase of the Day: Chas v’Shalom Read Post »
Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer. (My understanding is that Sephardic Jews say Lag LaOmer, which is just a different literal translation of the preposition.) Forgive me for not giving you a detailed explanation of the Omer here. This year, Lag B’Omer is Saturday, May 22, 2011, at sundown until Sunday, May
Sunday is Lag B’Omer! Read Post »
You’ll hear this Hebrew phrase a lot. You may also see/hear it as “yishar koah.” It literally wishes the person strength. “May you have strength!” In short, it means something along the lines of “Good job!” It congratulates someone who has had the merit of performing a mitzvah or some other good Jewish task. Most often,
Phrase of the Day: Yasher Koach Read Post »
The existence of synagogue membership fees always seems to be a major shock to the new conversion candidate. Coming from mainstream American society, voluntary donations during a religious service are the expected way for the average person to donate money to a religious organization (whether the candidate was involved in Christianity or not). Now, as
Convert Questions: What’s Up with Synagogue Membership Fees?? Read Post »
After several days of Blogger being broken, it seems to be working again! But not after unpublishing a post, not publishing the scheduled post (blank because Blogger was broken for 3 days), and then posted a blank future-scheduled post. UGH. I apologize for any inconvenience! I think I’ve corrected everything, and last Friday’s post is
Awkward Shabbat Moment #4,281 Read Post »
I get this question a lot, as I imagine many of you do. I’ve finally hit on an answer that I like to use on friends. I have yet to try this on someone I don’t know as well, but I would try it out. Question: What are you not allowed to do on Shabbat?
Common Question: What Can’t You Do on Shabbat? Read Post »
An important read from the other convert blogger named Chavi: The Real Danger? Other Converts. From the post: “I don’t know if it’s new, but all of the conversion crises talk has exacerbated this self preservation to the point that converts, in some communities, have become bullies. It is the classic case where the bullied
Bullying Within the Conversion Community: The Enemy Within Read Post »
Halacha in a Nutshell is a series that does not aim to actually teach you halacha. The goal is to acquaint you with the general ideas of a halachic issue so that you can follow conversations without looking like a total n00b. Now here’s a fun topic full of vague euphemisms. This will not be
Halacha in a Nutshell: The Laws of Family Purity Read Post »
Yesterday and today are two “Jewish” holidays. I only put Jewish in quotes because the existence of the state of Israel is a hotly debated topic within Jewish groups. So yesterday was Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. Someone in particular was on my mind: Elad ben Kochava. I went on a Birthright trip to Israel
Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut Read Post »