In “The Watchman’s Rattle,” subtitled “Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction,” Rebecca Costa delivers a fascinating account of how civilizations die. When their problems become

The Temple period was a different time, which I’m now thinking about in rhyme.   Back then animal sacrifices seemed sublime, but now some people

וּפָשַׁט אֶת בְּגָדָיו וְלָבַשׁ בְּגָדִים אֲחֵרִים וְהוֹצִיא אֶת הַדֶּשֶׁן אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה אֶל מָקוֹם טָהוֹר (ויקרא ו:ד) This week’s parsha begins by describing the first

Parshat Tzav discusses the subject of korbanot. The Midrash (Tanchuma) on Parshat Tzav teaches that the nations of the world asked Bilaam, “Why did Hashem

As with Yaakov and Esav—and with Ephraim and Menashe—our second grain is really our first. Wheat may be preferred, but there is no food more

If only they had given Yiddish its due! Over the centuries rabbis have painstakingly sought the deeper meaning of Chad Gadya, the grand finale of

Learn the words in Hebrew to figure out the joke below: חֲכָמִים wise שׁוֹאֵל ask שְׁאֵלוֹת questions מַצְחִיקוֹת funny שׁוֹנִים different Solution Simple Child: “Why

The special Passover flatbread, matzah, has the same ingredients as regular bread except it’s unleavened so it doesn’t puff up and rise. One lesson we

Our parsha, which deals with a variety of sacrifices, devotes an extended section to the chattat, the sin offering, as brought by different individuals: first

While a well-known hallmark of the Shabbat table, delving deeper into covering the challah helps us optimally fulfill this mitzvah.   Three Reasons The Rishonim

 Parshat Vayikra This opening parsha of sefer Vayikra serves as a logical continuation of the final parshiyot of sefer Shemot that we read last week.

How we confront our guilt in the aftermath of sin or moral failure is a defining pillar of avodat Hashem and of religious identity. Accepting