The shofar is blown on Rosh Hashanah. Here are the four sounds made by the shofar-blower: Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah, and Tekiah Gedolah. Read More »

Before the State of Israel existed, the Freeland League for Jewish Territorial Colonization envisioned a Jewish homeland in places such as Australia and Suriname. Read More »

The official video for the Macaroons’ video “Seder Plate.” Learn more about Passover at http://www.myjewishlearning.com/passover. Read More »

To celebrate Purim, here are four fun things to do! Help the less fortunate. Give gifts of food to friends. Have a festive meal. And tell the story of Purim. Read More »

The MyJewishLearning staff taste HeBrew’s new Jewbelation 14 and Vertical Jewbelation beers as part of our Hanukkah celebration. Read More »

A Hanukkah music video about lighting candles, spreading the fire, learning Torah and celebrating the festival of Hanukkah. Read More »

Question: This fall I am taking my daughter, who’s 17, to visit college campuses. We’re a moderately observant family, and I want to take her to visit the Hillels on campus, but I’m not sure what questions we should ask or what exactly we should be looking for when we visit. Read More »

Every week, Julie Seltzer, artist and Torah scribe, bakes a challah depicting an aspect of the week’s Torah portion.       You will be blessed in the city and you will be blessed in the field. (Deuteronomy 28: 3) בָרוךְ אַתָה בָעִיר ובָרוךְ אַתָה בַשׂדֶה   Here we see the city of Jerusalem, with the Western Wall and the cityscape above. Read More »

Reprinted with permission from Torah Topics for Today. Many of us in this country have an overabundance of goodness in our lives. But sometimes in our society, with its saturation of goods and services, it is difficult to be aware of this abundance. Read More »

Question: I heard that you shouldn’t start learning Kabbalah until you’re 40 years old. Is this true? Why? Why 40 in particular? –Simon, Japan Answer: Remember when you used to ask your parents a question and they would say, “I’ll tell you when Read More »

In 1897, at the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, the delegates joined in a rousing rendition of,the song “Hatikvah.”The beloved Zionist hymn would come to be knownamong generations of Jews around the world as the Jewish national anthem. Read More »

Reprinted with permission from Torah Topics for Today. Kindness to others in children can begin with kindness to animals . Even though children can be fairly self-centered, exposure to animals can bring out the nurturing side of a child. At times, however, children can also be cruel to insects or animals. Read More »

Every week, Julie Seltzer, artist and Torah scribe, bakes a challah depicting an aspect of the week’s Torah portion.       A man’s garment will not be on a woman, and a man will not wear woman’s dress. Read More »

Beans, mentioned in the Talmud as “ruviah,” are symbolic on Rosh Hashanah because their Talmudic name sounds like the Hebrew “to increase,” and therefore indicates a desire for increased blessings in the new year. Read More »

Question: I’m at my first job out of college, and I’ve been working there for about two months. Now the High Holidays are coming up, and I’m nervous about talking to my boss about all the days I have to take off. Someone in the office suggested I ask that the days can be not counted as vacation, but I’m not sure how to do that. Read More »

Reprinted with permission from Torah Topics for Today. Children are perpetually concerned with fairness. “It’s not fair,” they cry when a sibling gets something they don’t. It’s a phrase they often use when there’s something not exactly to their liking. But “it’s not fair” can become something more mature as they grow older. Read More »

Every week, Julie Seltzer, artist and Torah scribe, bakes a challah depicting an aspect of the week’s Torah portion.       If a dead body is found…your elders and judges will go out and measure the distance from the body to the nearest cities. (Deuteronomy 21: 1,2) כִּי-יִמָּצֵא חָלָל … Read More »

Reprinted with permission from the author. “A person should only pray in a house with windows, as it says, ‘And the windows of his upper chamber were open toward Jerusalem’ (Daniel 6: 11).”-BT Berakhot 34b Are you familiar with the expression ‘bedroom eyes’? Perhaps we can add variation of that to our spiritual lexicon: sanctuary eyes. Read More »

Since 1999, Taglit-Birthright Israel has brought over a quarter-million Jewish young adults from around the world to Israel for a free ten-day tour and education program. The half-billion dollar initiative is sponsored by the Israeli government along with diaspora Jewish philanthropic foundations, federations, and agencies. Read More »

The Jewish New Year stirs up a whole bucket of emotions for many of us. Praying to God. Apologizing to our family and friends–and even family- and friends-in-law. Questioning the choices we’ve made and the lives we’ve led. Taking steps to create a better you . Maybe you’re proud of your year. Maybe you’re embarrassed. Or maybe you’re not sure yet. Read More »