What On Earth Is Lag b’Omer?
Today is Lag b’Omer, a relatively obscure Jewish holiday, yet one which is deeply meaningful for many, particularly those with a Kabbalistic or more mystical orientation. Lag b’Omer, which literally translates to the thirty-third day of the Omer (Hebrew letters each have numerical equivalents–thus, lamed is equal to thirty and gimmel is equal to three) is [...]
Holiness and Removing the Stumbling Block — Parashat Kedoshim
Parashat Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1-20:27) is read this week as part of the annual Torah reading cycle in the synagogue. As is the case most years, it is read in conjunction with the parsha or Torah portion which proceeds it—Parashat Acharei Mot (Leviticus 16-18) which is also read on Yom Kippur. Parashat Kedoshim is a parsha [...]
Musar, Mindfulness and Counting the Omer
On the Jewish calendar, we are currently in the period known as Sefira or Sefirat HaOmer—the Counting of the Omer, a forty-nine day period between Passover and Shavuot. Each evening, beginning on the second night of Passover, Jews count the Omer by first making a blessing and then counting that day, being sure to count [...]
Passover — The Time of Our Freedom
Pesach (Passover) is, without a doubt, one of the most widely observed, if indeed not the most widely observed holiday on the Jewish calendar. Pesach is personally my favorite holiday. Despite the massive amount of preparation involved, I find the spiritual message of Pesach immensely compelling. Pesach is the festival that marks the Jewish people’s [...]
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
On the afternoon of Saturday, March 25, 1911, at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory located at the Ash building (today the Brown building) in lower Manhattan, one of the worst industrial accidents ever in American and New York State history took place when a fire was begun on the ninth floor of the factory. It is [...]
Review – One Hundred Great Jewish Books: Three Millennia Of Jewish Conversation
One Hundred Great Jewish Books: Three Millennia Of Jewish Conversation Lawrence A. Hoffman Bluebridge, 2011 ISBN 978193334631 Lawrence Hoffman, a prolific writer and professor at Hebrew Union College, the flagship institution of the Reform Movement for nearly four decades, has written an introduction to Judaism that is truly of a different kind than the many [...]
Jewish Disability Awareness Month
This February marks the fourth annual Jewish Disability Awareness Month, a time when special attention and emphasis is brought to the needs and experiences of people with disabilities in our communities. As someone who has a visual impairment, Jewish Disability Awareness Month holds personal significance for me and is very much welcome. At the same [...]
Tu Bishvat — The New Year for Trees
This article first appeared at http://judaism.bellaonline.com Tu Bishvat, the fifteenth of the month of Shvat, is known as the New Year for the Trees. Tu Bishvat is called such because each Hebrew letter has a numerical equivalent—the term Tu in Hebrew is spelled tet vav—tet is equal to nine and vav to six, equaling fifteen. [...]
The Shekhinah or The Divine Presence or Divine Feminine in Judaism
A version of the following article was originally posted at Judaism.bellaonline.com. There exists within many, if not most, religious traditions and spiritual systems some notion or conception of the Divine Feminine, and Judaism is no exception. In the Jewish tradition, the Shekhinah, which derives from the Hebrew root meaning “to dwell or settle,” is most [...]
Meaning Making: Finding Meaning Within Judaism
Judaism places a very high value on the act of sanctifying time. We sanctify time through the observance of the Shabbat (Sabbath) which lasts from Friday evening eighteen minutes before sundown until Saturday evening when three stars are visible in the night sky as well as through the observance of the many holidays throughout the Jewish year, each of which commemorates a particular period or event in the long history of the Jewish People. Sanctification of time is achieved through ceasing to do acts of creative labor, known in Hebrew as malachot. However, sanctification of time is not simply about what you don’t do, it is equally about what you do on these sanctified days.
Lauren Tuchman
Lauren graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in May of 2011 with a Master of Arts in Judaic Studies and holds a BA in religion from Dickinson College. Lauren's interests include the intersection between religion and disability and religion and gender studies.
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Contributing Scholars
Phillipe CopelandPhillipe Copeland is a Baha'i, a doctoral candidate in social work, a dedicated blogger, a husband and a father.
Patrick BrownPatrick is currently working on a master's degree at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL.