I stand with Israel
Hadash

Jerusalem – City of David – עיר דוד

Jerusalem the Center of the World City of David - עיר דוד, Jerusalem of ancient times, was located on a narrow ridge south of the present-day Old City. On the east it borders the deep Kidron Valley where the Gihon Spring, the city’s water source, is located. In Biblical theology, Jerusalem is the place where God chose for his name to dwell, forever hallowed (see Deut 12:5 for the origins of this doctrine which is fleshed out in the Psalms and prophets). Jerusalem is central to the Jewish heart. When religious Jews pray three times a day, they always turn toward Jerusalem (they also keep a small section of an eastern wall in their house unplastered and unpainted (Mizrach - East) as a sign of mourning for the destruction of the Temple). The Jewish people close the Passover Seder with the words LaShanah Haba'ah Bi Yerushalayim! ("Next Year in Jerusalem"). These same words are invoked to conclude the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur. During a Jewish wedding ceremony, the groom breaks a glass as a sign of mourning to commemorate the destruction of the two Temples which stood in Jerusalem. Maran Rabbeinu Yeshua called Jerusalem the...

Read full story »

Jewish Studies, Parashat Yitro, Torah Video, torah

Our faithful teacher – Parasha Yitro (Videos)

Our faithful teacher - Parasha Yitro (Videos)

Yitro, Yithro, or Yisro (יתרו — Hebrew for “Jethro,” the second word and first distinctive word in the parshah) is the seventeenth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the book of Exodus. It constitutes Shemot / Exodus 18:1–20:23. Jews in the Dia...

Read full story »

Jewish Roots, Parashat Yitro, Torah Video, torah

Overview: Parashat Hashavua Yitro

Overview: Parashat Hashavua Yitro

פרשת השבוע יתר Parashat Hashavua Yitro Here are this Week Aliyot of this week's Parsha: Torah: Shemot / Exodus 18:1-20:23 Prophets: Yeshayahu / Isaiah 6:1-7:6, 9:5-6 The seventeenth reading from the Torah is named Yitro (יתרו), which is the literal Hebr...

Read full story »

Bat Torah, Parashat Yitro, Torah Video, torah

Freedom and Commitment? – Parsha Yitro

Freedom and Commitment? - Parsha Yitro

Are freedom and commitment absolute opposites?  How do I honor a decision in the face of changing emotions? These aren't new questions.  In Parsha Yitro, Shemot/ Exodus 18:1 – 20:23 the mixed multitude are hearing from the Most High again.  Just as we encounter God in varying circumstances, the Israelites found a different lan...

Read full story »

Bat Torah, Messianic Judaism, Parashat Beshalach, Torah Video, torah

The Egyptians knew why – Parsha BeShalach

The Egyptians knew why - Parsha BeShalach

Parsha BeShalach / When he sent / Shemot / Exodus 13:17 – 17:16 What a parsha and time of the year!... of firsts. The Hebrew nation experiences their first taste of freedom from Mitzrayim or Egypt. The first prophet is a prophetess and the scriptures speak Miriam's name for the first time.People hear the first instructions for observing Shab...

Read full story »

Jewish Roots, Zionism, torah

Tu B’Shevat – New Year of the Trees

Tu B’Shevat - New Year of the Trees

Judaism has several different "new years." This is not as strange a concept as it sounds at first blush; in the western world, we have the calendar year (January-December), the school year (September-June), and many businesses have fiscal years. It's basically the same idea with the various Jewish new years. On this day, it is customary to eat fro...

Read full story »

Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, Video of the Week

Manipur Jews – Bnei Menashe (Videos)

Manipur Jews - Bnei Menashe (Videos)

In east India in the States of Manipur and Mizoram exists a community which sees itself as descendants of the Menashe Tribe (which is one of the 10 lost tribes). These people have Chinese appearance and they claim that after their forefathers were exiled and enslaved by the Assyrians they somehow escaped from slavery and arrived in China. Later on...

Read full story »

Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, Video of the Week

Cochini Jews – Malabar Jews (Videos)

Cochini Jews - Malabar Jews (Videos)

The Jews of India aren't one singular community. Among themselves they are divided into different communities. Each community has its own different culture, background and origin. Each community claims its arrival in India in different ways and it is not always clear how they really came to India. The three main Jewish communities of India are: Be...

Read full story »

Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, torah

The Luach – Jewish calendar

The Luach - Jewish calendar

The first thing you might notice is that the Jewish calendar sometimes has an extra month. The years with an extra month are the Jewish calendar’s leap years. Regular years have anywhere from 353 to 355 days, while leap years have 383 to 385 days. Gregorian years have 365 days normally, and 366 days in a leap year. The reason leap years exis...

Read full story »

Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, torah

How to wear a Tallit (Videos)

How to wear a Tallit (Videos)

What is a tallit? The tallit (also pronounced tallis, or talet) is a prayer shawl, the most authentic Jewish garment. It is a rectangular-shaped piece of linen or wool (and sometimes, now, polyester or silk) with special fringes called Tzitzit on each of the four corners. The purpose of the garment is to hold the Tzitzit. Most tallitot (alternativ...

Read full story »

Anusim, Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, Video of the Week

The Marranos Jews (Videos)

The Marranos Jews (Videos)

The story of the Marranos, the lost Jews from Spain, started in the 14th century when the Spanish Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church persecuted the large Jewish community in Spain and Portugal. Many Jews preferred to die rather than to give up their faith and convert. Many other Jews were forced to become Christians. Despite this, the church...

Read full story »

Israel, Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, non-jews

Halakhic Status of the Bene Yisrael of India

Halakhic Status of the Bene Yisrael of India

The Bene Israel (Hebrew: בני ישראל‎, "Sons of Israel",Marathi: बेने इस्र claim to be descended from Jews who escaped persecution in Galilee in the 2nd century B.C.E. The Bene Israel resemble the non-Jewish Maratha people in appearance and ...

Read full story »

Israel, Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, News

Bene Israel – Jewish customs

Bene Israel - Jewish customs

The Bene Israels have a few Jewish customs almost unique only to them. The community members almost in every thanksgiving ceremony maintain a ritual called ‘Malida’. Malida is a home ritual in which the men sit around a plate full of roasted rice, fruits, spices and flowers. In this ceremony they sing songs praising the Lord. In the ma...

Read full story »

Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, News, Video of the Week

Jews of Iran (Videos)

Jews of Iran (Videos)

The beginnings of Jewish history in Iran date back to late Biblical times. The biblical books of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and Esther contain references to the life and experiences of Jews in Persia. In the book of Ezra, the Persian kings are credited with permitting and enabling the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their ...

Read full story »

Anusim, Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies, Video of the Week

Jews in India – Bene Israel (Video)

Jews in India - Bene Israel (Video)

The largest Jewish community of Indian Jews is that of the Bene Israel. Earlier the Bene Israel lived in the villages of west Maharashtra in the Konkan coast. In the nineteenth century they started moving to the cities, mainly to Bombay (now called Mumbai) and to other cities among them Pune, Ahmadabad and Karachi which is now part of Pakistan. Fr...

Read full story »
Page 1 of 191234510...Last »