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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Melave Malka
What is a Malave Malka, and what happens at one? "Melave" means to "escort" and "Malka" means "queen." The Shabbat is often compared to a queen in traditional Jewish sources, because it is a day that we honor as if…
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"Work" on the Sabbath
What is considered "work" on the Sabbath? In the context of the laws of the Sabbath "work," or Melacha, means creative work. An example of creative work would be lighting a fire. Moving a heavy table across the room would…
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The Torah Readings on Pesach and Sukkos
What is the reason for the sequence of the Torah readings on Pesach and Sukkos? On the second day of Pesach and the first two days of Sukkos, we read from Emor; on the eighth day of Pesach and on…
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Non-Jews at the Seder
Can a non-Jew attend a Passover Seder? Non-Jews were forbidden to participate in the Passover sacrifice (Ex. 12:43-48), but that doesn’t imply that they’re forbidden to attend a Passover Seder nowadays.
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Counting Days
When the Torah mentions a period of days, are they complete or partial days? There’s a Talmudic principle that “part of a day is like a day” (Pesachim 4a); this means that part of the first or last day of…
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Leaven
What is the spirtual significance of leaven? Leaven is forbidden on Passover to remind us that our ancestors left Egypt in a hurry and didn't have time for their dough to rise (Ex.12:34,39). In addition, leaven has become symbolic of…
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Basic Values and Morality, Basics of Judaism, Rosh HaShanah, The Calendar and Holidays (incl. Sabbath)
Rosh Ha-Shanah in the Torah
Why doesn't the Torah mention Rosh Ha-Shanah? Probably the term Rosh Ha-Shanah isn't used in the Torah because it would be ambiguous; as the Mishnah (Rosh Ha-Shanah 1:1) tells us, there are several different New Years. Celebrations on the first…
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The Jewish New Year
When is the Jewish New Year? In the Jewish calendar there are several "new years", some of them only of agricultural significance. The two main New Years are the one in the Spring, which the Torah calls "the first of…
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Using a Shofar to Play Music
Is it permitted to use a shofar to play music? The Talmud (Rosh Ha-Shanah 33b) says that a person who blows the shofar just to make music does not fulfill the obligation (of hearing the shofar on Rosh Ha-Shanah). This…