KETUBA (Part 2): The financial obligations and the signing
The Ketuba is the document that records the obligations of a Jewish husband toward his wife. Its text has three parts:
1. The date and...
KETUBA (Part 1): What is the Ketuba and what does it...
The word Ketuba means "document." Despite what many people assume, the Ketuba is not a contract between husband and wife. It is the document...
The Talet under the Hupa
Immediately after the ceremony of the giving of the ring (qiddushin) the groom wears a Talit (a prayer shawl). The custom is to...
The ring
Previously, we explained that the Jewish wedding consists of two steps: Qiddushin and Hupa, which today are integrated into one single ceremony.
We...
The ancient origins of the Jewish wedding ceremony
Maimonides explains that the institution of marriage is a Biblical innovation (MT Hilkhot Ishut 1:1). Before the Tora was given to the Jewish people,...
Rabbi Israel Najara (1555-1625) and the Jobar Synagogue
The Jobar Synagogue, Eliyahu haNabi, considered the oldest in the world, was destroyed in May 2014 during the Syrian civil war.
Rabbi Israel Najara ישראל...
TEHILIM # 14: Men without God
Pasuq 1. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their actions are vile; no one of...
TEHILIM # 13: Turning despair into optimism
אנה ה 'תשכחני נצח
עד אנא תסתיר פניך ממני
עד אנה אשית עצות בנפשי יגון בלבבי יומם
עד אנה ירום אויבי עלי
13: 2 How long, O HaShem,...
TEHILIM # 12: Professional deception
1. Lamenatseah 'al haSheminit, psalm of David.
Like the majority of the Psalms, this too was composed by David HaMelekh, who suffered, and personally witnessed,...
Rabbi Tam ibn Yahia (1475-1542) and the fire in Constantinopla
Rabbi Tam ibn Yehia was one of the most important rabbis of his generation. He was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1475. In 1496, when the...















