Shemini
Feature of the Week: Two Exciting Updates for Story Lovers
Our Jewish Stories Podcast brings little-known tales to the general public for the first time. Each season of stories, narrated by Benson Simmonds, is available for immediate listening or for later binge-listening on Chabad.org and iTunes or by searching for “Jewish Stories Podcast” in your favorite podcasting app.
We also recently added a Jewish stories feature to our Google Assistant app. The feature plays short Jewish stories for you to enjoy. The app is part of a limited set of Google’s Family Safe category, meaning that parents can let their children safely explore the app while limiting the other unwanted content they can access.
To hear a story, simply tell one of 5,000 connected Google devices: “Hey, Google! Ask Chabad to tell me story.”
I was recently asked about a supposedly Jewish “custom” of a girl being slapped across her face by her mother upon getting her first menstrual period. I was shocked by how many online commentators thought this came from Jewish teachings
To get some understanding of the varying customs, let’s begin by explaining why some repeat it at all.
Careful scrutiny of the text (and the Midrashic subtext) reveals that some of these heroes lived with life-altering disabilities
I learned that Judaism has beautiful traditions that comfort and aide us when we’re in pain, and also when we experience joy. I saw up close that it’s possible to live a Jewish life.
Nadab and Abihu are mentioned briefly in Scripture as two men who came too close to G-d and died in the Tabernacle under mysterious circumstances.
While the calf immediately evokes the story of the golden calf, finding the meaning of the goat is a bit harder.
I tried to explain to my friend how people react to grief and mourning differently. Looking back, I wish I could take back my words. In a misguided attempt to make her “feel better” or “fix the situation,” I was negating her emotions.
Our natural human desire to get close to G-d sometimes leads us to pursue methods of religious ecstasy. Yet our human desire to be close to G-d may well be at odds with G-d’s divine desire to be close to us.
Moses could not fathom what procedure could possibly purify a person who had been ritually defiled by contact with death, until G‑d granted him a uniquely profound revelation. Although in exile the ritual of the Red Heifer cannot be performed, through learning about this mitzvah, a Jew can purify his body and soul.
I recently saw a video about a fellow who tried to commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.
We got the diagnosis on February 23, 2017, at 9 p.m. A new anniversary: before and after knowing your husband has cancer.
What does fasting on Yom Kippur achieve?
That even our physical bodies can feel the precious closeness of this day.
Yom Kippur is such a holy day, the body receives life from fasting.
