• Home
• Jewish Life
• Traditions

Traditions

Archie Bunker Does Shabbat

Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton as Archie and Edith Bunker from All in the Family sit down to Shabbat dinner with the blessings over the candles, wine and challah bread.

Traditions

613 Mitzvot

The basic concept in Judaism relating to practice is the Mitzva, a commandment from HaShem.

Traditions

How to Make Kiddish

Kiddush, like candles, sanctifies the Sabbath. Making kiddush is a simple religious act that sanctifies the Jewish Sabbath, making it distinct from the six…

Traditions

What is a Get?

A get is a divorce under halacha, or Jewish law. The word can also refer to the document that grants the get, though its technical name is sefer k'ritot, or…

Traditions

Shofar and Blessings

Shofar and Blessings by Mishkanim.

Traditions

Jewish Tradition, Pomegranates, and Golden Bells

You may have noticed that pomegranates are often portrayed in Jewish art in decorations for candle holders, plates, and other kinds of Judaica.

Traditions

Dude It's Shabbos

Dude it's Shabbos.

Traditions

Netilat Yadayim - Ritual Hand Washing

"Netilat yadayim" is the Jewish word depicting the religious washing of hand with the help of a cup.

Traditions

Shabbat Candles

One of the most well known Jewish customs connected with the observance of Shabbat (the Sabbath) is the lighting of lamps or candles before sunset on Friday…

Traditions

Mezuzah

A mezuzah is a little box that is nailed to the doorpost of a Jewish home. The Hebrew word mezuzah means doorpost. It is generally placed on the right side of…

Traditions

Minyan

In many Jewish synagogues a minyan is required for public prayer times. A minyan is a group of at least 10 Jewish men over the age of 13 years old. A minyan is…

Traditions

What are the Top Eight Jewish Foods?

Humans are partial to food to begin with, and Jewish culture is no different – plus Judaism has many unique foods in its culture.

Traditions

Mikvah-Jewish Tradition

A mikvah, מקווה, is an immersion pool that is used for ceremonial cleansing.

Traditions

The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know

The Yiddish language is a wonderful source of rich expressions, especially terms of endearment (and of course, complaints and insults)….Jewish scriptwriters…

Two Torahs?

Many understand the Torah to be the five books of Moses. And that is true but what many Jews call Torah is not the Torah but what is commonly referred to as the Oral Torah. The Oral Torah contains…

Traditions

Haftarah

הפטרה (Haftarah), the name given to the reading from the Prophetic books which follows the Torah reading. This custom is so old that its origin is unknown and even the derivation of the name is far…

Traditions

Bar Mitzvah

When a young boy reaches the age of thirteen he is termed a bar mitzvah, which literally means a son of commandments or son of good deeds. For girls the term is bat mitzvah. It is at this age that…

Traditions

Shofar

The shofar, made from a ram's horn, has been used by our people for thousands of years. The blowing of the shofar was used to call the people together for war and to call them to the Sanctuary for…

Traditions

Netilat Yadayim - Ritual Hand Washing

"Netilat yadayim" is the Jewish word depicting the religious washing of hand with the help of a cup.

Traditions

Kiddush-Jewish Tradition

Kiddush is from the Hebrew word for holy or sanctify, to set apart as holy. God set the Sabbath apart as holy. Saying the kiddush on Friday evening dates back about 2,500 years.

Traditions

What are the Top Eight Jewish Foods?

Humans are partial to food to begin with, and Jewish culture is no different – plus Judaism has many unique foods in its culture.

Traditions

Traditional Jewish Housewarming Gifts

When a Jewish family moves into a new home, relatives and friends can bring housewarming gifts that honor their Jewish traditions and culture.

Traditions

Circumcision-Jewish Tradition

Male circumcision is a well known Jewish tradition. Avraham (Abraham) was called by God and highly honored. God said “’I will cause you to be very fruitful.

Traditions

Yiddish Part One

The Yiddish language is a western Germanic oral and written dialect used by the Ashkenazi Jews of central and eastern Europe for the past millennium.

Traditions

Jewish Wedding Rings

Even though we have modernized we still hold some sacred old traditions dear amongst the Jewish community. Jewish wedding traditions are one such old tradition that is still held to this day.…

Traditions

Magen David

The Magen David is the six pointed star also known as the Star of David. Magen David literally means "shield of David." It is not certain when the star became a Jewish symbol, but it was used on…

Traditions

Torah Reading

The custom of reading from the Torah on Saturday mornings is so old that it is difficult to be certain when it first started.

Traditions

Halacha

The word Halakhah comes from the root word halakh which means “to go” and it is the name given to the collective teachings of Jewish laws which involve the regulation of various aspects of Jewish…

Traditions

The History of the Calendar

Although the early history of the calendar is not clear, most scholars believe that the present calendar is a combination of two systems. One system began the year in spring and the other in autumn.…

Traditions