Celebrate
What The Talmud Teaches About Trees
Trees were viewed in both economic and symbolic terms by the rabbis of talmudic times.
Celebrating Shabbat in Many Ways
Contemporary Jews have adapted traditional Shabbat practices in non-traditional and sometimes surprising ways.
Shabbat in the Modern World
In modern times, non-Orthodox Jews have largely abandoned Shabbat observance, despite many innovations intended to encourage it.
Mystical Shabbat
The masters of Kabbalah explained all of the elements of the Sabbath rituals as a consistent thematic drama of the reunion of the Shekhinah the Sabbath bride, with her mate--and in so doing exerted considerable influence on the shape of those rituals.
The Rabbis’ Shabbat II: Enjoyment and Spiritual Fulfillment
The Rabbis used requirements and prohibitions to shape a Shabbat experience in which creative activity is set aside to make time for matters of the spirit. Second of two parts.
Shabbat as Preview of the Perfected World
Rabbinic literature and medieval Kabbalah describe the day as a foretaste of life in the perfected "world to come" that traditional Judaism anticipates.
Shabbat as a Sanctuary in Time
The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals, the Jewish equivalent of sacred architecture.
Creation and Exodus: The Nexus
The Bible has no problem giving both cosmic and social reasons for Shabbat. Creation and liberation are tightly connected.
Church & State & the Jews
Religious education is vital for this country--but not on Uncle Sam's tab.