Tricks, Treats, Turkeys, and Torah: Jewish Celebration of Non-Jewish Holidays

Hostages and Halacha - Rabbi Kermaier

Isidor I. Rabi, a Nobel Laureate in physics, was once asked for the secret to his success as a scientist. Rabi responded, “My mother made me a great scien ...

Mar 2005 : March 2005
By Rabbi Yaakov Kermaier
Purim, celebrated in most places on the 14th of Adar, is observed on the 15th of Adar in walled cities such as Jerusalem. The fixed Jewish calendar allows  ...

Apr 2003 : April 2003
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
In an interesting article appearing in the Jewish Forward, attention was directed to a scholarly and controversial essay contributed to Firs ...

Jun 2002 : June 2002
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
Anti-Semitism is erupting once again, and around the world. Most disturbing is its manifestation in France. It is said that it is not the French people that i ...

May 2002 : May 2002
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
We will be celebrating the festival of Shavuot during the course of this month. Shavuot is referred to in our liturgy as Zeman Matan Torateinu, the time in an ...

Apr 2002 : April 2002
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
We will be celebrating Yom Ha'Atzmaut during the month of April. It will be both a joyous and sad occasion. Even while the very existence of the State of Isra ...

Mar 2002 : March 2002
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
When the Israelites departed from slavery in Egypt, they were instructed to offer the korban pesach, the Passover Sacrifice, the Paschal Lamb, by way of servi ...

Feb 2002 : February 2002
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
We shall be celebrating Purim towards the end of the month. This brings to mind, once again, the issue of anti-Semitism and the obligation to remember. Zachor ...

Nov 2001 : November 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
One of our preoccupations in recent years has been the preservation of the Jewish character of the State of Israel. ...

Oct 2001 : October 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
The festival of Sukkot, the days of rejoicing, ze-man simchateinu, are arriving. We have an obligation to rejoice, notwithstanding the sadness and anxiety tha ...

Sep 2001 : September 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
The Rav (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik), of blessed memory, once declared
that the word chet, which is usually translated as "sin," also means "missing the  ...

Jul 2001 : July/August 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
It is a source of pride for me, as I believe it is for our congregation, that so many of our members have traveled to Israel since the current intifada erupte ...

Jun 2001 : June 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
We are familiar with the adage, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Too often, good men remain silent. ...

May 2001 : May 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
On the festival of Shavuot, which occurs at the end of May, we shall be celebrating the acceptance of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is accordingly appropriate to ...

Apr 2001 : April 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
We are approaching the festival of Pesach, which celebrates freedom and redemption. It occurs to me that, with the passing of time, we discover that new freed ...

Mar 2001 : March 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
The Midrash teaches that the people of Israel,while enslaved in Egypt, entered into a covenantin which they mutually committed themselves to rise to the defen ...

Feb 2001 : February 2001
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
Religion and politics are inseparable -- certainly in Jewish life. The Torah mandates the creation of a Jewish State and the designation of a Jewish sovereign ...

Dec 2000 : December 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Nov 2000 : November 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Oct 2000 : October 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Sep 2000 : September 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Jun 2000 : June 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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May 2000 : May 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Apr 2000 : April 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Mar 2000 : March 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Feb 2000 : February 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Jan 2000 : January 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Dec 1999 : December 1999
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Nov 1999 : November 1999
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Oct 1999 : October 1999
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Jul 1999 : July 2000
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Jun 1999 : June 1999
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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May 1999 : May 1999
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Mar 1999 : March 1999
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Feb 1999 : February 1999
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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Jan 1999 : January 1999
By Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth
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