Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz The number 40 appears again and again throughout the Torah: Moshe spent three separate periods of 40 days on Mount Sinai; the Jewish […]
Shabbat and Holidays
Inspiration, information, tutorials, recipes, and more on Shabbat and the Jewish holidays celebrated throughout the year.
What It Means to Be God’s Treasured Nation We are told in this week’s parashah, “You are children to Hashem your God… a treasured nation” (Devarim 14:1–2). We see from […]
Jewish Fasting Laws and Guidelines Jewish law is called halachah, from the Hebrew word holech, to walk. The laws of the Torah shine their light upon every part of our […]
This week’s Torah reading contains the mitzvah (commandment) of not straying after our eyes (Bamidbar 15:39). The Biur Halachah (1:1) states that this prohibition includes the general pursuit of materialistic […]
Introduction Many of the following laws are adapted with permission from the wonderful Hebrew sefer (book), Kovetz Halachot on Shavuot, a collection of Halachic decisions from Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky Shlit”a. […]
The Leaders of the Tribes Each shevet (tribe) in the desert had their own Nasi, the leader of their tribe. Our parashah opens by telling us who the Nesi’im (leaders) […]
One of the things Hashem (God) has blessed us with, in the miraculous workings of our body, is peripheral vision. This refers to the ability to detect motion and movement […]
The Meaning of Sukkot Many of the Moadim have a clear reason why we celebrate them. For example, on Pesach we commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, and on Shavuot the […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz In the Holy Temple, the Kohanim (Priests) and Levi’im (Levites) offered sacrifices on behalf of the rest of the nation. But since the […]
The Mitzvah of Counting In this week’s Torah reading we have the mitzvah (commandment) of Sefirat Ha’Omer (Vayikra 23:15-16). The mitzvah is to count every day from the second day […]
