Stories on Holidays

I think that somewhere in the next world, the soul of his Jewish mother was confused and asking, ‘Where is my son? Why is he not with his fellow Jews praying on Yom Kippur?'

For the hundred Jews or so, the only recognition of the holiday of Chanukah was this one small electric menorah...

As weeks turned into months, it seemed that my relationship with Yetta was over. I was soon proven wrong. One day, I received an official envelope in the mail from the city hospital Yetta lived in. The letter was headed, "Dear Family Member of Yetta G."

His black fedora was cocked gangster-like to the right, and the tails of his frock coat flapped with every step. My Kenya-born nurse rushed into the room and brought a Jewish colleague, who was proud to be an insider...

My best friend was a girl of my age named Jeanette. One morning when I came to play, I saw her family being forced at gunpoint into a truck. I ran home and told my mother. “Don’t worry,” she said, “Jeanette will be back soon . . .”

"That day the pitcher lost the game. But he won the World Series, and on his table were the tefillin," concluded the Rebbe. "In the end, he will give to them merit by putting them on"

The rabbi stared at the grave, noticing the most unusual headstone. Engraved on the stone, above the man's name, were the Hebrew words kasher l'pesach "Kosher for Passover."

There are fifty states in the U.S., said the Rebbe, and all but one allowed Jewish inmates to light Chanukah candles. “Would you believe it? It is only here, in New York State, that prisoners cannot light menorahs for Chanukah!”

Do you know where Kano is? Look it up on the map of Nigeria in West Africa

It was obvious that G‑d was there in the room. Because she was talking to Him.

In September 1990 I went off to defend a country that I was prohibited from entering. The “Jewish” on my dog tag remained as clear and unmistakable as the American star on the hood of every Army truck . . .

400 apartments housing 1,200 people were destroyed or damaged. Tel Aviv hospitals were prepared to handle mass casualties

At the conclusion of the seder meal, the cup of Elijah was filled and my six year old son, candle in hand, was sent to open the front door, an old fashioned, ponderous wooden structure that was secured with a heavy iron latch...

As the hours passed, the students became frustrated, and some planned on closing the doors early. They began assessing the cause of the failure.

Could we possibly forgo the sounding of the shofar, which symbolizes the redemption of Israel? For me, it was unthinkable...

Here was genuine culture, a living tradition, a way of preparing for Tisha B’Av that I had never experienced before. It was an awakening, a discovery of origins. This is where hotdogs come from