Jewish Ritual: The Secret to Community?

Jewish Ritual: The Secret to Community?

For communities all over the world, keeping Shabbat is one of the most important parts of what it means to be Jewish.

 

With a never-ending cycle of festivals, traditions and practices, why did Shabbat rituals in particular - from hamotzi to havdalah - become such a defining part of what it means to be Jewish? And why have Jews gone to such great lengths to keep these millenia-old practices going, even in times of danger?

 

Related Articles

More From Traditions

Tfillin

T'fillin, or phylacteries, are square black boxes traditionally worn on the head and arm.
Tfillin
Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism is viral and has infected almost all large organized groups from all sides of the…
Anti-Semitism

Pointing to the Torah

When reading sometimes it is helpful to have something to guide us so we don’t skip a line of…
Pointing to the Torah
Mezuzah on the Doorpost

Mezuzah on the Doorpost

If you visit a Jewish home one thing that you may see is a mezuzah. A mezuzah is a small…
Mezuzah on the Doorpost

Challah

Bread plays a very important role in Jewish tradition. In the Torah when Holy visitors come to…
Challah
Tanach

Tanach

The Hebrew Scriptures, also known as the Tanak contains 39 books divided into 3 sections. The…
Tanach
Photo: Front of a Kosher Market on a Street Corner

Mixing Matters

"...You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk" (Deuteronomy 14:21). Many take this…
Mixing Matters

Seinfeld: Jewish Food

You will get a real laugh from this excerpt from the show Seinfeld.
Seinfeld: Jewish Food

Shabbat Candles

One of the most well known Jewish customs connected with the observance of Shabbat (the…
Shabbat Candles

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation