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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Rabbi Akiva’s Students
[See this article for the background of this issue – Ed.] Question: How come Rabbi Akiva’s students all died from not having respect for each other if they were the students of the man who exemplified that? Answer: That could…
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Why isn’t Shavuos Always a Sunday?
According to the Torah (Lev. 23:15), the Omer offering is brought on “the day after the Sabbath”, and we then count seven weeks and celebrate Shavuos. Why doesn’t Shavuos always fall on a Sunday? Answer: “The Sabbath” in Lev.23:15 means…
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Bow and Arrow on Lag B’omer
Question:What is the significance of the bow and arrow on lag b’omer Answer: The bow and arrow were to commemorate a special victory of the Bar-Kochba revolt against Rome (132-135 BCE) that occurred on Lag BaOmer after several unsuccessful campaigns…
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First Passover
When was the first Passover? Answer: 1312 BCE. This was the year of the Exodus. The first Seder took place the night before the Exodus. Take care, Pinchas
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Bread of Affliction …or Freedom?
Why is it that on Matza represents freedom if we also consider Matza a poor mans bread that we had in Egypt as slaves? Answer: I attended Rabbi Soloveithchick’s (The Rav’s) lectures where he asked the same question: “Matzoh on…
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Moses, Pharaoh and Egypt in the Hagada
Moses is mentioned only once, in passing, in the Hagadah. I have learned that the reason is that we want to emphasize that it was G-d who took us out of Egypt and not an emissary or an angel. However,…
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Lamb Blood on the Door Posts
Why is the blood of the lamb (and not the blood of any other animal) used to make the mark on the door posts of Jewish homes for the angel of death to pass over in the story of the…
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The Beginning of the New Year
If Nisan is the first month of the year, why does the New Year begin in Tishrei? Answer: The year begins on different dates for different purposes: in Nisan, for dating a king’s reign; in Elul, for giving tithes from…
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Ten Commandments
I understand that it has been determined that there are 613 commandments in the Old Testament. What I am curious about is about the 10 commandments that almost everyone knows about. Are they essentially subject headers that the other commandments…