Banging for Haman- I find going to the synagogue on Purim to hear the Megillah an unnerving experience to say the least. Why do the children have to set off explosives and make such a ruckus at various times during the reading? More »
Blessings on Rabbinical Mitzvahs- On Chanukah and Purim, we say the blessing, Asher Kidishanu - "Which God has commanded us..." Yet aren't those words inappropriate, given that nowhere in the 613 mitzvahs of the Torah are these holidays mentioned. More »
Don’t Miss a Word- I see many people in synagogue who bring their own Megillah scrolls for the reading. Is there any reason for that? I mean, shouldn’t they be quietly listening to the reader the entire time? Isn’t the reader’s scroll sufficient? More »
Esther & Achashverosh- In the Purim story, how do we understand that Mordechai handed over Esther to Achashverosh? I remember in the synagogue years ago, no one could agree on just what their relationship was. But I have read on a few occasions… More »
Wiping Out Amalek- All humanity recoils at the horror of the Holocaust, the calculated Nazi policy to wipe out every Jewish man, woman and child. But how do you respond to someone who says: "Isn’t it hypocritical to decry what the Nazis did,… More »
You Know More Hebrew Words Than You Think
