Chanukah – Why is this Light Different from all other Light? – By Ben
It is easy to disregard Chanukah. It’s the most secularized holiday. It’s not in the Torah. And its iconic miracle is so overdone, it’s a bit of a joke. However, […]
Tag Archives: Temple
Tisha B’av – Whose Fault Is It Anyway? — By Ben
This Sunday we observe the “holiday” of Tisha B’Av. I put holiday in quotes because the day is anything but a time for celebration. Regarded as the worst day in […]
The Gift of Mourning & Tisha B’Av — By Ben
It’s Wednesday and I’m attending the funeral of my friend Jason’s father. It’s a bright clear sunny day at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park and Mortuary in the Hollywood Hills, […]
Pesach: Dayenu – Would It Really Have Been Enough? — By Ben
As Pesach approaches we find ourselves in a furious rush. Between cooking, cleaning, switching out dish ware, finishing work before the two days of Yom Tov, and collecting all chometz […]
Vayikra – Sacrifices Shmacrifices — By Ben
This week’s Torah portion starts the book of Vayikra, aka Leviticus. It’s one of the less exciting parts of the Torah, in that it mostly deals with the instructions and […]
Jewish Holidays: Purim (part 1) – by Ben
Purim is just a week away. Growing up, all holidays other than Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Chanukah, and Passover, I knew virtually nothing about. I vaguely remember dressing up for […]
Terumah – Separate and certainly not Equal –By Ben
This week’s parsha is one of the driest in the 5 books. It reads like a set of Ikea instructions. There’s no story and there’s not even weird Mitzvahs for you […]
Ugh. Not High Holidays services again. — By Ben
The vast majority of Jews in America don’t attend prayer services (aka davening) very often. But there are two days that if anyone has any shred of religious connection will […]
Tishah B’Av, The worst bad day. — By Ben
Shakespearian actors and Jews have few things in common. 1) Both groups feel at home in New York. 2) Both groups pour over their source material, analyzing every letter, as if […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 