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The Barmitzvah

The Barmitzvah

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Author: Lionel Slier, Vol 74, #1, Pesach 2019)   “A five year-old boy is ripe for the Bible, a ten year-old boy for the Mishnah, a thirteen year-old for the fulfilment of the Commandments”. So it is written in the Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei
Lamedvovniks

Lamedvovniks

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(Author: Cecil Bloom, Vol 72, #1, Pesach 2017) There is a very old Jewish legend to the effect that every generation has thirty-six saints on whose piety the fate of the world depends. The Book of Proverbs (10:25) provides an early source for the belief
The Tu Bishvat Festival

The Tu Bishvat Festival

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(Author: Henia Bryer, Vol 74, #1, Pesach 2019)   Tu Bishvat is a somewhat forgotten and much neglected Jewish festival, especially outside of Israel. The etymology of the name derives from the letters ‘tet’ - number nine in the Hebrew alphabet - and ‘vav’ -
The Bible and Music

The Bible and Music

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(Author: Cecil Bloom, Vol 74, #1, Pesach 2019) . The Bible is full of references to music in the life of the early Israelites. When Laban reproaches Jacob in the Mountain of Gilead after Jacob had f led from him, he tells him he would
“Tradition is the illusion of permanence”: A fresh look at some Purim, Pesach and other Jewish festival traditions

“Tradition is the illusion of permanence”: A fresh look at some Purim, Pesach and other Jewish festival traditions

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(Author: Gwynne Schrire, Vol 72, #1, Pesach 2017)   “Tradition!” sings Tevya in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, “You may ask, ‘How did this tradition get started?’ I’ll tell you! - I don’t know. But it’s a tradition.” Tradition (from the Latin traditio -