Curiosities

This Shabbat is the second day of Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan.

Yom Kippur, the holiest date on the Jewish calendar, begins today, September 17th. The fast begins at 17:42 pm (São Paulo time) and ends the next day, at 18:34 pm. Morasha.com contains several articles about Yom Kippur, including the Laws and Customs of this very important date for the Jewish people.

Today is the eighth and final day of the Hanukkah festival. You must light the eight Hanukkah candles.

This Shabbat is Shabbat Bereshit – the first Shabbat of the annual cycle of Torah reading, when the first portion, Perashat Bereshit, is read. Mystics teach that Shabbat Bereshit is an extremely important date, as it influences the rest of the year.

This Shabbat, the 29th of Menachem Av, is Shabbat Mevarechim – the Shabbat that blesses the new month. We will recite in the synagogues a special prayer blessing Rosh Chodesh – the beginning (literally, head) of the new month, Elul.

This Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shirah” – the “Shabbat of Song”, because it is in this week's Torah reading that the Children of Israel sing to G-d after the Red Sea has been miraculously opened, allowing the passage of the Jews and It was later closed, causing the drowning of the Egyptians who persecuted our people with the intention of re-enslaving them.

The first Jewish hospital in the United States, Mount Sinai Hospital, was founded on today's Hebrew date, in the year 1852, in New York City.

This Shabbat, the 28th of Kislêv, is Shabbat Mevarchim – the Shabbat that blesses the new month. In synagogues, after reading the Torah and Haftarah, a prayer is recited blessing the new month, which is Tevet. Rosh Chodesh Tevet – “The Head of the Month of Tevet – which will fall on Monday.