Without a doubt, there are more people and organizations who need your Tzedakah dollars – and even your Tzedakah time – than all your available resources. You want to do good, but how do you choose?  We’re not about to tell you where to give, but we’d like to help you figure out how to make those decisions. This instructive article on ElleVest not only suggests that you make a strategic giving plan, but has some good suggestions as to how to do so.  The article’s first suggestion is to spend time identifying your values and concerns; there is even a checklist to help you to identify ..read more

The Hebrew word “Tzedakah” stems from the root word “Tzedek”, which means “righteousness” but also “justice”.  Let’s take a look at how some popular online dictionaries define “charity” and “Righteousness”  Dictionary.com          Charity: generous actions or donations to aid people who are poor, ill, or needy: Righteousness: the quality or state of being righteous:  characterized by uprightness or morality or morally right or justifiable:  Merriam-Webster Charity: “generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or ..read more

“Seder” literally means “order”, and refers to the rituals around the feast to celebrate the beginning of Passover.  The Seder follows the order laid out in the Haggadah (you can read more about the Haggadah at our previous blog, “ What does Haggadah mean?”  All seders follow the same order and include the same elements: Blessings over (at least) four cups of wine, and over greens, bitter herbs, Matzah, candles, and washing hands. A ritualized asking of questions about the Seder and the items on a seder plate, a retelling of the story of Exodus, a festive meal, the search for hidden ..read more

In our family, we grew up with an unspoken rule that there was no eating during the Seder, except for what was required as part of the seder. Except for babies in highchairs.  We snacked before the seder began – often taste-testing the desserts, or just enjoying nibbles brought for that reason. Then the seder would begin.  We ate matzah when it was called for in the Haggadah. We ate parsley when it was called for. We ate charoset and maror when they were called for. We drank grape juice (and later wine) when prompted in the Haggadah. When we got older and had kids of our own, if the ..read more

“Haggadah” is a Hebrew word that means “telling” in the sense of “recounting”.  As such, it’s also the name of the book that is used during a Passover Seder to guide participants in the retelling of the exodus from Egypt and the rituals associated with this retelling. (“Seder”, by the way, means “order” (as a noun), because the traditional rituals, retelling, and meal are meant to take place in a particular order.) Here are some interesting facts about the Haggadah.  1)     Anyone can write one. Unlike most liturgy that passes through committees of scholars before ..read more

On the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, Jews around the world hold a Passover Seder to recall and retell the story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt.  Whether you hold one Seder on the first night of Passover, or a second one the following evening, preparation for a Seder can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be!  You can start with our free download for those hosting a Seder for the first time. There are three main categories to consider when preparing for a Seder – the ritual items, the ritual food and ritual drinks.  Here is a list of the ri ..read more

Our last blog focused on the absolute number of Jewish students at Canadian universities and colleges, but considering the percentage of the student population that is Jewish might give you a better feel for the likelihood of actually finding other Jewish students.  It’s relatively easy to find out which North American universities and colleges have the most Jewish students – In fact, Ivy Coach has the rankings for public and private Universities in 2022 here: https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/college-admissions/colleges-by-jewish-population/ .  But what if we focus only o ..read more

If you or someone you know are making decisions about post-secondary education next year, you may be wondering where the Jewish students are. It’s relatively easy to find out which American universities and colleges have the most Jewish students – In fact, Ivy Coach has the rankings for public and private Universities in 2022 (numbers for 2023 don’t seem to be available yet) here: https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/college-admissions/colleges-by-jewish-population/ .  But what if we focus only on Canadian universities and colleges? We plumbed Hillel’s websites to find Canada’s to ..read more

“Mezuzah” means doorpost, but it has come to mean the object that Jews hang outside their doors, on the doorpost. It’s composed of two parts, the scroll, sometimes called a klaf (קְלָף ) which has the words of the mezuzah, and a case for the scroll.   The Mezuzah scroll includes two paragraphs from Torah. One is from Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Hear, O Israel! יהוה (Adonai) is our God, יהוה (Adonai) alone. The contents of a Mezuzah scroll You shall love your God יהוה with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this d ..read more

The short and obvious answer to this question is, “Money”. But there are some more interesting questions hidden behind this simple one. a)     If I have a tzedakah box at home, how much should I be putting into it? The traditional Jewish guideline for giving Tzedakah is 10% of your after-tax income. (This My Jewish Learning article breaks this down further.) How much of that should come from your Tzedakah box will depend on your habits.  b)     Should I put money into those donation boxes at stores? This CBC article talks about some of the problems ..read more