The Queen That Saved The Jewish People  The story of Queen Esther saving Jewish people is one of the most remarkable tales in Jewish history. Queen Esther was a brave and courageous leader who risked her life in order to save the Jewish people from destruction. The story of Esther begins with her being chosen as the new queen of Persia when the old king, King Ahasuerus, was looking for a new wife. Esther, whose real name was Hadassah, was a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai. When Mordecai learned of the king’s search for a new queen, he encouraged Esther to enter the competition ..read more

Why There Is A New Year For Trees - Tu B’Shevat When we hear the words, “Jewish New Year,” it’s easy to become confused. The more we learn, the more we come to understand there are four days on the Hebrew calendar that are each referred to as a “New Year.” Today we are looking at Tu B’Shevat, which translates as the 15th day of the month of Shevat, and which is also known as “the New Year for trees.” Why do trees need their own New Year celebration? Is this a real Jewish holiday? What are we supposed to do on the 15th day of the month of Shevat if we do not live in the land of Israel? Tre ..read more

The Surprising History of Chanukah Almost everybody has heard of Chanukah, often spelled Hanukkah, and they know a little bit about lighting candles for eight days in the Hebrew month of Kislev, during December each year. They might also know there were political events which led to the miracles that Jews continue to remember every year at Chanukah. These political events spanned a 112-year time period, between 175 to 63 BCE, which means the conclusion of this period occurred over 2000 years ago. The Chanukah story is over 2000 years old.  But Jews choose to remember it every year becau ..read more

The High Holy Days of Tishrei Tishrei is the name of the busiest month of the Hebrew calendar. When you purchase calendars with the Jewish Holy Days and festivals identified, you’ll notice that Tishrei is the first month on those calendars, even though it is considered the seventh month of the religious year when counting from the first month of Nissan during which the Exodus from Egypt occurred. The month of Tishrei begins with two days of Rosh Hashana, followed by an interim period of seven days, followed by one day of Yom Kippur. Add them up and you have the ten-day period at the beginnin ..read more

Preparing For A New Hebrew Calendar Year The final month on the Hebrew calendar is Elul. The Jewish people know it as a time of preparation for the new Hebrew calendar year that begins on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the new month of Tishrei, the first month of the new Hebrew calendar year. That means Rosh Hashanah is the first day of a new calendar year when the number of the year changes. The current year of 5782 will change to the year 5783 on September 26, 2022. It's easy to get confused about “the Jewish New Year,” because there are other New Years that represent Biblical and agricult ..read more

Jewish Fasts Every Summer This year, 5782 on the Hebrew calendar, 2022 on the civil calendar, there are two fast days during the summer months. In the month of Tammuz, we have 17 Tammuz, which falls on July 16, 2022. And in the month of Av we have 9 Av, which falls on August 6, 2022. Both fast days are set aside to commemorate a series of tragedies throughout Jewish history. During the fast in July this year we remember the Romans breaking through the walls around the city of Jerusalem in 69 CE. During the fast in August this year we remember the Babylonians destroying the First Holy Templ ..read more

The Forty Nine Days between Passover and the Giving of the Torah “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbat, from the day that you bring the omer that is raised, seven complete weeks there shall be until the morrow of the seventh week you shall count fifty days.” Leviticus 23:15-16 From the day after the Passover, Jews are commanded to count the omer - counting each day for 49 days. The fiftieth day was the day we were given the Torah by God on Mt Sinai.  From first glance, the Torah seems a little sparse on the details on why and how to count the omer. But befo ..read more

Purim is the story of how Queen Esther of the ancient Persian Empire saved the Jewish people through fasting, prayer, and dinner with the King, after second-in-command Haman petitioned King Ahasuerus to have the Jewish people completely eliminated.  But what made Haman think he would be successful in this venture? History had already shown that Jewish people always survived. Even attacks by Haman’s ancestors had not proved successful. Why did Haman think he had the upper hand on the Jewish people this time? Chapter 3, verse 8 of the Megillah (Story of Esther) gives some insight. “Hama ..read more

When I decided that I wanted to convert to Orthodox Judaism, I had no idea what to expect. I researched as much as I could online but there was very little information on what the process looks like. The people that I knew who were Jewish gave me answers but most were just hearsay and vague explanations. Typically, the process should take anywhere from one to two years. In order for you to be fully prepared to live a Jewish lifestyle, it’s imperative for you to experience a full cycle of the Jewish holidays in a Jewish community.  Participation at a local Orthodox synagogue is equally impo ..read more

Are You Thinking of Converting to Judaism Because of Marriage? You’re not alone if you have decided to convert to Judaism because of a romantic relationship.   The only condition is that the person who wishes to convert do so because they want to  - no one can convert them – they must do that themselves.  It must be their own choice.   This makes it giur – meaning that the converter came on their own volition to the Jewish faith.   If you are someone who’d like to convert because of marriage, you’re not alone – celebrities, including Natalie Portman’s husband, did ju ..read more