Revisiting and Rededicating
Every May, Jewish American Heritage Month offers all of us the opportunity to more deeply engage with the three and a half centuries of Jewish life in the United States.
Remembering how All Jews Stood at Sinai
In just a couple of days, we will celebrate Shavuot, the holiday that marks our receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
Reducing Our Food Waste This Shavuot
On Shavuot, as we celebrate receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai, we also celebrate the beginning of the harvest and the connection between the earth, God and us. Receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai includes accepting the teachings and values of the Torah that guide our daily lives.
New Round of ICE Raids, Same Concerns
In early January 2016, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated a series of operations to round-up and deport undocumented mothers and children from Central America.
S’firat HaOmer
"Counting of the omer;" An omer is a biblical measurement of grain. The counting of the omer is 49-day period that begins on the second night of Passover during which each day is counted with a blessing. On the 50th day, the Festival of Shavuot is observed.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot
A celebration specific to the holiday of Shavuot, it includes a late-night – or even all-night – study of Torah and Jewish texts that commemorates receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Z’man Matan Torateinu
Literally, “the time of the giving of our Torah.” This refers to the holiday of Shavuot.
(the) Omer
The 49-day period that begins on the second night of Passover and ends on Shavuot.
Shavuot
"Weeks;" festival that commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses atop Mt. Sinai.
Yizkor
"Remember;" memorial service held on Yom Kippur and on the last day of Pesach, Shavout, and Sukkot.