For You light my lamp; the LORD my God illumines my darkness. (Psalm 18:28) When one thinks of Hanukkah, what generally comes to mind, especially if you’re a child, is the lighting of many candles, gifts, fun games, sizzling latkes (grated potato pancakes) and mounds of big, sugarcoated, jelly, chocolate, filled doughnuts or sufganiyot. Not […]

By Bob Gorelik & Dolores Jones When a study comparing Judaism and Christianity involves history, theology, practice and/or Biblical interpretation—any disagreement we may have with the “Church” in any of these areas sometimes makes Christians feel uncomfortable.  Or, they may feel criticized—personally. They say, “Don’t you mean ‘Christians’ when you say ‘Church’?” The answer is […]

Immediately after the breaking of the fast on Yom Kippur, the sound of hammers tapping can be heard in Jewish neighborhoods. A start is made in building the temporary booth or SUKKAH, in a backyard or on a balcony, which will be the center of the week-long Festival celebration. The booths, or sukkot, symbolize the […]

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year—the day on which we are closest to God. It is the Day of Atonement—”For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before God” (Leviticus 16:30). In Biblical times, when the Temple was standing, Yom Kippur […]

By David Meir-Levi, originally published in FrontPage Magazine. In his op-ed to the New York Times on May 16, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the world in no uncertain terms that Palestinian statehood and UN recognition would not end the conflict: Palestine’s admission to the United Nations would pave the way for the internationalization […]

The following is a “Daily Dose” email from chabad.org… Fill Your House A container is defined by its contents: A pitcher of water is water. A crate of apples is apples. A house, too, is defined by what it contains. Fill your house with books of Torah, and your house becomes a Torah. Affix charity […]

In just 8 days, the Palestinians will be making a unilateral move to abandon the Peace Process and declare statehood.   They will request the borders to be the 1967 lines. They would control Jerusalem, or most of it, for sure the Old City and the Temple Mount.

The question is often asked, “How did Gentiles get the notion that they needed to pull away from Judaism and form new practices?” The answer is complex—but the “withdrawal” can be traced back to the writings of the early Church Fathers.    The question about where did the Gentiles get the notion to pull away from […]

The Jewish people celebrate Passover with a festive ceremony called a Seder. At the Seder, we eat a variety of unique foods and drink four cups of wine that together represent the four aspects of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt (Exo 12:12-13).  After the meal (which is served in the middle of the Seder), we eat […]

The “surface” meaning of a text is known as a peshat. In other words, a text means what it says—whether or not it is intended literally or figuratively. When God called Abram to leave his own “country,” God promised him (among other things) that He would make of Abram a “great nation” (Gen 12:1-3). How […]