Ritual


The Arba’ah Minim: or, the four types of Jews

My husband assembled his lulav (arba’ah minim) the other day, and our five-year-old daughter asked if she could shake it.  She has her own–consisting of passul (not appropriate for ritual use) palm frond and a lemon–but she knows the difference, and requested to shake the kosher one.  Her abba showed her how, and afterward she [...]

New Holiday Page - Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah

Hi All,
I hope you all had a happy and healthy Rosh Hashana, and that you have an easy fast on Yom Kippur!  Sorry this is a bit late, but here is the newest holiday page, available in the Jewish Living - Holidays section of the website.  Enjoy!
Four days after the end of Yom Kippur, on [...]

Sincere Supplication

I have been meditating on/praying in regards to, my relationship to my chosen faith, Judaism. I decided a month ago to try and find my own spiritual understanding/grounding in relationship to the holidays that are about to occur. This bit of soul searching is typical of my expression of faith.  
 My decision to covert was the [...]

Prostrating Prayer

I am sorry about the short post. School has started and it is taking a lot of my time right now.
A rare posture, once commonly practices, is that of falling prostrate. Kneeling is totally absent from Jewish prayer except as a step in falling prostrate. This takes place today only during the High Holy Days, [...]

Elul Time

Elul Time

I have been spending my spare time making New Year cards. Although I often joke about channeling my inner Martha Stewart,  I must admit this activity is actually a meditative act. As the high holidays approach the concept of preparing oneself is a Jewish imperative.  The below linked article from My Jewish Learning is Five [...]