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Time and again, the Jewish community of Prague faced the horrifying accusation of blood libel – the false claim that they used the blood of Christian children in their Passover mat...
Let’s journey back to Prague, to the time of Rabbi Loew, the famed Maharal. The emperor had just decreed that the horrific blood libel accusations – the false claims that Jews used...
It’s a wild one, and it involves a homunculus, a miniature, artificially created human. The story goes that Maimonides had a brilliant young assistant, a student he poured his hear...
According to tradition, it's a pretty busy time in the heavenly court! The idea is that on Rosh Hashanah, everyone is judged. Then, on Yom Kippur, our fates are sealed. But how doe...
It's more than just apples and honey, you know. It's a story that stretches back to the very beginning, to Adam himself. : Adam, the first human, made a pretty big mistake. He ate ...
We often think about them as a time for personal reflection, a chance to atone for our mistakes. But the tradition paints a far grander picture, one involving cosmic judgment and t...
Specifically, the scapegoat for Azazel. The book of Leviticus (16:5-10) describes a fascinating, and frankly bizarre, ritual performed by Aaron, the High Priest, on Yom Kippur, the...
We've fasted, we've prayed, we've poured out our hearts. And then… one final, powerful blast of the shofar. But why? It's more than just a signal that the fast is over and bagels a...
Vital, as recounted in Sefer ha-Hezyonot, dreamed of a very unusual Simhat Torah, the joyous holiday that celebrates the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle. Imagine this:...