The Hebrew Calendar, Jewish History and Culture

Today in the evening, Jewish people from all around the globe will celebrate the Jewish New Year which is called

Today is the second day of the Jewish New Year – ‘Rosh Ha-Shanah {ראש השנה}.’ The reason why this Jewish

Today in the evening is the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of ‘Tisheri’ {תשרי} and that means that another

Today at sunset will be the tenth of the Hebrew month of ‘Tisheri’ {תשרי} and this signifies the beginning of

As we have mentioned here before, part of the service at the synagogue during every Shabbat and Jewish holiday is publicly

Every year on the second day of ‘Chol Ha-Moed’ {חול המועד} (‘weekdays of the holiday or festival’) of Passover the

The basic commandment of the ‘Feast of Sukkot’ is to sit/dwell in the Sukkah {סוכה} (tent or booth) for seven

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, on the fifteenth day of this

About a month ago, the holiday season  started in the Jewish world. It began with Rosh Ha-Shanah {ראש השנה} (the

Every seven years, right when the year of the Shemitah {שמיטה} ends, during the Feast of Sukkot of the following

Over the last year we have mentioned many times the annual cycle of the Torah reading which is manifested in

When the Maccabees liberated Jerusalem and entered the Temple, they wanted to light the Menorah. But then they discovered that

After reciting the Hanukkah blessings and lighting the Menorah, it is customary to sing songs. The most popular Hanukkah song

Today is the first day of Hanukkah – also known as the Festival of Lights. This holiday marks the historic

Lighting the candles is the main ritual of Hanukkah {חנוכה}. Because Hanukkah lasts eight days, there are eight candles on

“Sevivon” (סביבון) is the Hebrew name for a four-sided spinning top (also known as dreidel) which is the most popular

Every year, right after the national Memorial Day, the state of Israel celebrates its independence. In Hebrew, this day is

This year we will celebrate the Festival of Purim {פורים} in the upcoming week and that is why this week

One of the most interesting things about Purim {פורים} is that there is a difference regarding the time of celebrating

Every year, the Shabbat after ‘Tishah Be-Av’ {תשעה באב} – the fast day which commemorates the day of the destruction

Every year, while the Temple in Jerusalem was still standing, the second day of Passover was known as the ‘first

The day after ‘Rosh Ha-Shanah’ is known in the Jewish tradition as ‘Tzom Gedaliah'{צום גדליה} which means ‘The Fast of

As we mentioned here before the ‘Feast of Sukkot’ is celebrated for SEVEN days and is the LAST day of

Today in the evening begins ‘Yom Ha-Zikaron’ {יום הזכרון} – Israel’s official Memorial Day (it literally means ‘Remembrance Day’ in

Today – by the Hebrew calendar – 51 years ago, the Old City of Jerusalem (and other parts of the

Beginning this evening, Jewish people from around the globe will gather their loved ones and celebrate ‘Pesach’ {פסח} which is

Passover is a holiday of many names; one of them is ‘Chag Ha-Che’rut’ {חג החרות} which is Hebrew for ‘the

Today is ‘Rosh Chodesh’ {ראש חודש}  (‘head of the month’ in Hebrew, meaning the beginning of the month) of the

‘Shir Ha-Shirim’ {שיר השירים} – Hebrew for the biblical book of ‘Song of Songs’ (AKA ‘Song of Solomon’) is part

As discussed on Friday, last Shabbat, which takes place right after ‘Rosh Ha-Shanah’ {ראש השנה} and just before ‘Yom Kippur’ {יום

Beside sitting or ‘dwelling’ in the Sukkah the other main ‘Mitzvah’ (biblical commandment) of the ‘Feast of Sukkot’ is the well-known

As mentioned in the first post about Passover, one of the main rituals of the first night of this holiday

Today is the 10th of the Hebrew month of “Tevet” {טבת}. It is one of the six fast days in

Today is Tishah Be-Av {תשעה באב}, which is the ninth day in the Hebrew month of Av. The day the

The main ‘Mitzvah’ {מצווה} (commandment) of the ‘Feast of Sukkot’ is to of course be inside of the ‘Sukkah.’ {סוכה}

Today is the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar {אדר} (the twelfth and last month in the Hebrew calendar).

Tomorrow we will commemorate ‘Tishah Be-Av’ {תשעה באב} – Hebrew for ninth of the month of Av – which is

The days between ‘Rosh Ha-Shanah’ (the Jewish New Year) and ‘Yom Kippur’ are called in Hebrew ‘Aseret Yemei Teshuvah’ {עשרת

‘Chol Ha-Moed’ {חול המועד} is Hebrew for ‘weekdays of the holiday or festival’ and it refers to the days of

Today is the 33rd day in the count of the Omer {עומר}  (or as we call it in Hebrew ‘Lag

Passover will take place this year beginning next Friday (evening). Because of that, is it customary to read a special

Today is “Tu Be-Shevat”{ט”ו בשבט}  – Hebrew for the fifteenth of the month of Shevat {שבט} (which is the eleventh

The sabbatical year has two names in Hebrew -‘Shenat Shemitah’ {שנת שמיטה} and ‘Shenat Shabbathon’ {שנת שבתון} (‘Shenat’ }שנת} means

Today is the sixth of the Hebrew month of Sivan {סיון} and that means we are celebrating the Festival of

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At the end of the Second Temple Period, a new religious institution emerged among the Jews who lived in the

The ‘Piyyut’ {פיוט} (from the Greek word ‘poiétḗs’ which means ‘poet’), the Jewish liturgical poem which was recited/sung in synagogues,

At the end of the 15th century, following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and the migration of Jews

The revival of the Hebrew language in modern times is sometimes considered no less than a miracle. Undoubtedly, it was

The revivers of the Hebrew language were influenced by European languages (mainly Latin, German and some Russian) on the one

The cultural environment of the first and second centuries CE was characterized by the strong dominance of mainly Greek and

From a linguistic perspective, it seems that there is a difference between the two ‘kinds’ of Hebrew in the Bible

By the 10th century and later until the end of the 15th century, the map of the Jewish settlement had

 “Mishneh Torah” {משנה תורה} is the Hebrew name for the most comprehensive work that has ever been written about the

Did you know that “Birkat Hachama” {ברכת החמה} (“Blessing of the Sun” in Hebrew) is the most rare blessing in

“Rosh Chodesh” {ראש חודש} is Hebrew for “the beginning of the month” and it literally means “the head of the

Today we continue with our discussion of the Hebrew meaning of the biblical holy days. ‘Yom Kippur’ {יום כיפור} (‘Day