Shemini Atzeret, celebrated on the 22nd day of the Jewish month of Tishrei – the day after the seven-day feast of Sukkot – is the most joyful festival on the Jewish calendar. Shemini Atzeret means the “eighth [day] of assembly”, which leads...

In Sukkot, we eat and drink, study and rejoice, and some even sleep in the Sukkah. There is also the commandment of the blessing of the Four Kinds that is done during all days of Sukkot, with the exception of Shabbat. Kiddush for the...

Laws related to Yom Kippur It is customary to do caparot – the slaughter of a rooster for a man and a hen for a woman on the 9th of Tishrei at dawn by a qualified shochet. It is also possible to fulfill this custom with din ...

On the night of Rosh Hashanah, after making the berachah and drinking the wine, all those present wash their hands and recite the blessing that You commanded us to wash our hands and bring forth bread from the earth. BARUCH ATÁ ADO-NAI ELO-HENU MELECH HAOLAM ASHER KIDE ...

Aside from Yom Kippur, Tisha B'Av is the only date on which we Jews fast for an entire day. On Tisha B'Av, eating is not allowed; we can't even drink water. It is also not allowed to bathe, wear leather shoes and have sexual intercourse.

Laws and customs Tikun Leil Shavuot - Night of vigil and study - On the first night of Shavuot, this year on Thursday, June 5, it is customary to hold a vigil dedicated to Torah study, in synagogues, throughout the night. Kabbalah in...

The Torah tells us to count the period of the Omer, which begins on the second day of Pesach. In ancient Israel it was the day that the Jews brought an offering of new grains to the Temple of Jerusalem. After the date, the Counting of the Omer began, in h ...

Although Purim is the happiest day of the year, its story is about the reversal of an edict of genocide against the Jewish people. The story goes: to save her people, Esther had to face the king. Therefore, aware of the grave danger, she asks Mordec...

Tu b'Shvat is the New Year for trees in the sense that it is the legal date for calculating the initial formation of fruit and deciding what types of tithes should be offered, according to the Torah's commandments. Such questions were of importance...

On the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tevet, in the year 3336 from Creation (425 BCE), the armies of the Babylonian emperor Nevuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. Thirty months later - on Tammuz 9, 3338 - the city walls were razed and in ...

The feast of Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev in the evening, and the lighting of candles lasts until the 3rd of Tevet in the evening. Since the historic Maccabean victory over the Assyrians in 165 BC, Jews have celebrated Hanukkah for eight days. A ...

Pesach Sheni - literally the second Pesach - falls on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar - exactly one month after the eve of the festival of Pesach. Pesach Sheni conveys a message that is one of the foundations of Judaism, teaching us...