Matisyahu, the popular artist who shot to fame as a Hasidic reggae-inspired rapper in 2004, made headlines this week for his decision to seemingly leave his Orthodox Jewish lifestyle, with which he'd been involved since 2001. (At least, he shaved his beard.) The news sent minor waves through...
(6) Comments | Posted September 28, 2011 | 8:10 AM
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, the Jewish world prepares for the call, personified in the day's 100 blasts of the shofar, for teshuvah. Often translated as "repentance," teshuvah means more closely "return," sharing a Hebrew root, or shoresh, with shuv/return. It is a time for a return to the Godhead, a...
(10) Comments | Posted January 19, 2011 | 9:00 PM
Tu B'Shvat, long ago the annual date set aside in ancient Israel for determining the age of trees, essentially as a tax matter, today marks what has come to be known as the "Jewish New Year for Trees." In that fact, it is not unique -- it is one of...
(13) Comments | Posted December 16, 2011 | 10:52 AM