Shabbat

Surprising facts about the weekly Jewish day of rest.

Remembering how we've suffered in the past helps us cultivate gratitude for the blessings we have right now.

God doesn't demand that we apportion ourselves into little pieces, some parts of which are publicly acceptable and the rest hidden away.

Why can't we talk between washing hands and eating bread?

These simple words mask a subtle theological statement about the primordial past and the perfected "world to come."

Teshuvah is not a confrontation with some frightening otherness, but with ourselves.

The mitzvah of the Jubilee year is a chance to begin again.

What we experience in our early years informs every aspect of who we are.

If ritual is to create a shared language across the generations, we must ensure the Judaism we practice is recognizable both to our ancestors and descendants.

Fire can be destructive or constructive as well as a tool for connecting with the divine.

What we regret shows what we value

Jewish tradition suggests that dreams awaken the imaginative faculty without which prophecy is impossible.