How to Make Shavuot at Home
PREPARATION Tallit, kipah, shofar two candles for Yom Tov, small candle for Yiskor memorial, flowers and greens on your table, Kiddush cup, cheese/bread/honey snack SHAVUOT at YOUR FAMILY TABLE Place flowers, greens, candles, Kiddush cup and snack on your table Put on your tallit and kipah Sound the Shofar (one long blast) Light the memorial […]
Travels in Jewish History
Travels in Jewish History: China, India, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia with Irene Shaland Hosted by Adath Shalom Synagogue, NJ Thursday, May 6, 2021 7:30 PM EST (USA) This event is FREE, no pre-registration required. Click to join this event on Zoom Meeting ID: 339 394 8412 Passcode: Israel Travel with Irene Shaland to the continent of Asia […]
Siracusa is a Top Destination in Sicily
By Irene Shaland, International Jewish Scholar Siracusa is truly a summation of Sicilian splendor, and if there is one city in Sicily that personifies this magnificent island it is Siracusa. The city is 3,000 years in the making and combines Greek and Roman civilizations with ancient Jewish culture and baroque masterpieces. Great history of Western civilization: […]
Passover Items for the Passover Seders
ON YOUR TABLE Candles, candlesticks, matches for Yom Tov Box or plate of matzah (unleaved bread) Salt water and parsley or celery and vinegar Green onion with stem – one for each person A traditional seder plate or dinner plate Kiddush cup or wine glass with wine or juice A Haggadah – the seder book […]
Last Supper? Passover Seder?
Ancient Seder Traditions Was the Last Supper a Passover Seder? Originally, Passover night was a rather informal affair, There was no ornate Passover plate, no Haggadah, the book of prayers and blessings that we today at every Passover seder. Instead in ancient times each father would teach his child in his own way and with […]
The Modern Seder – Women’s Role
New Passover Traditions Arise As We Celebrate the Changing Role of Jewish Women: Beginning in the mid 1970’s when the first woman rabbi was ordained in the Reform movement, modern Jews have expanded the role that women play in Jewish culture, tradition and observance. Changes have taken place on the bima where most synagogues now […]
Sephardic Passover Traditions
Sephardic Traditions at the Passover Seder Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews – What’s the Difference? There is a division within the Jewish community that began thousands of years ago and continues to this day. It is not a division between religious denominations such as Reform, Conservative, Orthodox or Reconstructionist. The division is earlier and more pervasive […]
The B’nei Anusim Seder Hamishi
Some historians believe that the Russian painter, Moshe Maimon’s most famous work, “Marranos: Secret Seder,” actually tells the story of the Seder Hamishi, a secret passover tradition, a special Passover seder, held, not on the first or second night of Passover, but, as its name suggests, on the fifth night of the holiday. Legend has […]
Purim Puppetry – Jews Created What Became Legitimate Theater
In a New York Times article dated March 8, 2019, journalist Milan Schreuer reports on a Belgium Carnival Festival that exhibited nasty anti-semitic overtones. Schreuer notes that although everyone is fair game for satire, the organizers who created the Jewish parade float went way too far. Huge puppets characterizing Jews with garishly huge noses are […]
Tu B’Shevat Blessing For Those Who Care for Animals
The first documented Jewish blessing of the animals and remembrance for pets that have passed on, occurred in 1997, in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Today these special blessings are offered three times during the Jewish year; at Rosh HaShanah when we celebrate creation and the birthday of the world, during the Shabbat when the Torah portion, […]