By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Of all the memorable historical occurrences in the Torah, none is more significant than the day of the revelation at Sinai, when Israel received the Torah from G d. Nevertheless, unlike the date of the exodus from Egypt (Passover, celebrated on the 15th day of Nissan) and the original date of […]
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the great white fast of the Jewish Year. And since there are also additional prohibitions on that day – no sexual relations, no anointing the body with oils, no bathing and no wearing of leather shoes– one might assume that Yom Kippur is basically a day of awe […]
“And the Kohanim and the people standing in the Courtyard – when they would hear the glorious, awesome Name, the Ineffable one, emanating from the Kohen Gadol’s mouth, in holiness and purity, they would kneel and prostrate themselves, give thanks and say, ‘Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity.’” In the […]
Kol Nidrei On the eve of Yom Kippur while there is still daylight, Jews congregate all across the globe wearing white. They don their tallitot (prayer shawls) and Kol Nidrei is chanted with a sense of emotional anticipation and a centuries-old feverishly moving melody. Dating back until at least the ninth century, Kol Nidrei, at […]