The Calendar and Holidays (incl. Sabbath)
- Chanukah
- Other Holidays and Fasts
- Passover
- Purim
- Rosh HaShanah
- Shavuos
- Sukkos
- The Jewish Calendar
- The Sabbath
- Yom Kippur
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Swimming on Shabbat
Can you swim on the Sabbath? There is a rabbinical prohibition against swimming on the Sabbath [see Shulchan Aruch, section Orach Chaim 339:1].
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Silence After Washing Hands for Bread
Can you explain the origin of the custom not to speak between washing your hands and saying the blessing over the bread on the Sabbath? Basically, our Sages ruled that people should not do anything at all distracting after washing…
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Motors and “Indirect Cause” on the Sabbath
I was told that a Jew cannot be a passenger in a car on the Sabbath because s/he adds weight and causes the car to burn more fuel [an infraction of the laws of the Sabbath]. However, most observant people…
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The Tenth of Teves
What event does the Fast of the Tenth of Teves commemorate? It commemorates the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian emporer (2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 52:4; Ezekiel 24:1-2).
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Chanuka Candles, Shofar, and Sabbath Prohibitions
The Rabbis decreed that we should not fulfill the commandments of shofar, lulav, and megillas Esther in order that we not come to desecrate the Sabbath (i.e. by carrying these religious articles through a public thoroughfare in violation of Sabbath…
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Proper Chanukah Greeting
I felt a bit foolish the other day, because I had no idea as to how I should wish two of my friends, both practicing Orthodox Jews, a good Chanuka. What are the traditional greetings used in the Jewish community,…
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Chanuka for 8 Days?
In the Chanuka story, the flask of pure olive oil was enough to last for one day. Therefore, only the 7 other days that the oil remained lit was a miraculous. So why do we light eight candles and not…
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The Story of Judith
What is the story of Judith? Can you tell me if there a Jewish source for information. I read that at one time this story was told and related to Hanukah. A friend told me other religions tell the story…
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Dates of Jewish Holidays
Why are the dates for Jewish Holidays different each year? The dates are never different, they are always the same. It is just that the date of Jewish holidays is determined by the Jewish calendar, and you are looking at…