When you bentch, you may notice that sometimes a person leads the bentching and sometimes not. Chances are, you won’t be leading the benching anytime soon, but you may be confused what’s going on. I wondered about this constantly, but by the time bentching was over, I’d forgotten my question! Before we start, go grab […]
Phrase of the Day: Being “Religious”
I’ve written before that I don’t like the phrase “religious Jews.” Now I have a better explanation for it, thanks to Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. I’m still looking for a better phrase if you have one! Rabbi Telushkin sums up the situation very well in Hillel: If Not Now, When?: …[I[f two Jews are speaking about […]
Public Service Announcement from a Grammar Gremlin
A short PSA this afternoon: The plural of “rabbi” is “rabbis.” NOT “rabbi’s.” Please don’t mistake possessives for plurals. “Rabbi’s” makes me wonder what the rabbi owns. That is all. Sincerely, The Grouchy Grammar Gremlin
Word of the Day: Yeshivish
Yeshivish is a language all its own. Supposedly it’s a form of English, but sometimes, you’d never know it! Yeshivish exists most strongly in Yeshivish communities (whodathunkit?), but many orthodox Jews (primarily Ashkenazim) keep some yeshivish up their sleeve. Sometimes, it’s just a faster way to communicate an idea. The words may be either Yiddish […]
Phrase of the Day: Yetzer Hara
Technically, if we’re going to talk about the yetzer hara, we’ll also discuss the yetzer hatov. The yetzer hara is the “evil inclination.” Yetzer (inclination) ha (the) ra (evil). The yetzer hatov is the “good inclination.” The yetzer hara gets a bad reputation, but it is a necessary part of each of us. The yetzer […]
Adventures in Semantics: The Thirteen Attributes of Hashem’s Mercy
On motzei Shabbos, Ashkenazim (and Chabad) began their series of the penitential prayers known as selichot. Sephardim started saying slichot at the beginning of this month, Elul. As Rosh HaShanah starts on Wednesday night, try to make the effort to rise early and go to synagogue so that you can recite slichot with the congregation. […]
When Hebrew Letters Are Actually Numbers
Something that confused me for a long time was that Hebrew letters are also numbers. Worse, the words for numbers have both feminine and masculine forms. But today, we’re going to focus on Hebrew numerals. Think of Roman numerals (I, V, and X) and Arabic numbers (1, 2, and 3). I find the Hebrew system […]
Word of the Day: Shuckle
If you don’t know the word shuckle, you probably still know what it is! In fact, if you have been davening with an orthodox congregation for at least a few months, you probably already do it. Shuckling is a swaying and/or rocking movement Jews tend to do while praying. It apparently comes from the Yiddish […]
UPDATED: Word of the Day: Bentch
Bentch is a very commonly-used term, but it can be hard for people to understand since it sounds exactly like the English word “bench.” So today, we’re gonna bentch licht, bentch gomel, and bentch after dinner! Bentch (pronounced like and sometimes written as “bench”) is the Yiddish word for “pray.” It’s a verb. “Bentching” is […]
Phrase of the Day: Talmid Chacham
For your post-Tu B’Av pleasure… Doesn’t every man want to be a Talmid chacham? I know every woman wants to marry one. Even more than they want to marry the Old Spice Guy. (Old Old Spice Guy Isaiah, not New Old Spice Guy Fabio.) Talmid chacham just means Torah scholar. An illustration of such a […]