Calendar, The Jewish

A parable by the Chassidic sage Rabbi Yechezkel Panet illuminates the geography of the Jewish calendar

We are inclined to believe that all intellectual and artistic endeavors are inherently positive. There are those who would argue that untrammeled intellectual and artistic expression is itself a fundamental good . . .

The holidays of Passover and Shavuot are connected to each other by the Omer Counting period. This reveals to us the nature of freedom, and its dependence on Torah.

This week's Torah reading, Emor, contains the following command pertaining to the Shabbat: "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Shabbat of rest... you shall do no manner of work" (Leviticus 23:3.) How meaningful are even the most si...

An historic controversy arose between the Rabbis and sectarians as to the meaning of the command: "And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Shabbat." Although the Rabbis proved their case, why did the Torah use a word so open to misinterpret...

There is something unique about the way Parshat Emor speaks about Shabbat. It calls it a mo’ed and a mikra kodesh when, in the conventional sense of these words, it is neither. Mo’ed means an appointed time with a fixed date on the calendar. Mikra kodesh ...

When a new will is drawn into the world, it affects all of existence.

Would parents still love their children if they didn’t think they were intelligent and beautiful and talented?

Why is the Torah silent about the date of the most important event in its history?

The holidays are spiritual days that “call to us” to stop the ordinary activities of our lives. They also enable us to “call forth” and tap into the spiritual resources that these days hold.