The Torah reading this Shabbat, like a significant subset of Shabbatot throughout the year, contains two different facets. The first is the reading that is next in line within the ...

When the reader reaches the final verse containing the words זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק (“the memory of Amalek”) they repeat the word זֵכֶר with two different vowel sounds: once with a tzere — “zay-kher” — and ...

On this special Shabbat, Shabbat HaChodesh, the new month, we read from two Torahs. The additional special reading reminds us that we are entering the “first of months” and is apropos because it is ...

This Shabbat morning we will read from three Torah-scrolls: From the first, we will read the weekly Torah-reading, Parashat Terumah (Exodus 25:1-27:19); however it is divided into six Aliyot instead ...

Let’s start with Nachamu – a Shabbat named for its haftara. Here’s a riddle to ask your Shabbat guests: What Shabbatot are named for their haftara? Nachamu is one. Last week’s Chazon is another.

This Shabbat immediately preceding Purim is Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembrance. We supplement the weekly Torah reading with the verses from Deuteronomy [25:17-19] where, at the end of his life ...

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Imagine the Jewish calendar as three concentric circles: the Torah reading cycle, the holiday cycle and your personal life cycle. The circles line up in various combinations, like one of those "work ...

So what are the top 8 things to know about Shabbat Nachamu? #1. Firstly, being joyous and celebrating Shabbat Nachamu is a custom with deep historical roots. The Maharil (1365 - 1427) in his Minhagim ...

It was a Thursday evening in the winter, and the sun was sinking as I waited at a bus stop in Givat Shaul, practicing to chant my Torah reading from photocopied sheets of paper. Moses was late in ...