Moadim (Jewish holidays) Posts

Question: What is the background on spending money on the menorah? Isn't the mitzvah about the candle and oil? If I purchase a menorah, is it better to buy silver than another material? Answer: This is no small question as the Mishna Berura (671:1)…

1. Source To Learn Halachos Thirty Days Before Rosh Hashanah: Gemara Pesachim (6A) tells us that 30 days before Pesach, we begin learning the halachos of Pesach. Seder Hayom says the obligation applies to Rosh Hashanah, too. Sources: Seder Hayom…

Isru Chag (אסרו חג, lit. 'Bind [the] Festival') refers to the day after each of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. The phrase originates from Psalms 118:27, which states, "Bind the festival offering with cords to the corners of the altar." Accor…

An abridged version of Selichos is said on Erev Yom Kippur, and During Shacharis, Mizmor L'sodah, Tachanun, and Lamenatzei'ach are omitted. Avinu Malkeinu is recited this year (as Yom Kippur coincides with Shabbos). The minhag of Kapparos should be…

The Gemarah in Tannis (30b-31a) provides six reasons for the joy of Tu B'Av. Among the reasons given is that on Tu B'Av, they ceased chopping wood for the mizbeach. This is because, from that day onward, the sun was no longer strong enough to dry th…

Tu B'Av (ט״ו באב, lit.' fifteenth of Av') is a minor Jewish holiday. It is called Tu B'Av because of the sound of the two Hebrew letters whose combined numerical value corresponds to that of the date (15). The value 15 is obtained by combining th…

The days between Shiva Aser B'tamuz and Tisha B'av are referred to as "Ben Hametzarim" (the dire straits) based on the verse in Eichah (1:3). Shibbolei Haleket (263) references the verse in Daniel (10:2), which says, "Daniel mourned for three weeks…

Six Fascinating Facts That make Lag Ba'omer a memorable and more festive day The Shulchan Aruch (493:2) mentions the custom of increasing joy on Lag Ba'omer because it's the day that the students of R' Akiva stopped dying. The Pri Chadash (ibid)…

BeHaB begins this coming Monday, May 13th. BeHaB is a series of three fast days on the Monday, Thursday, and subsequent Monday following the months of Tishrei and Nissan (BeHaB is an acronym for Beis (Monday), Hei (Thursday), Beis (Monday)). A Mi Sh…

The Gemara in Pesachim (6A) tells us, "30 days before Pesach, we begin learning the halachos of Pesach." However, another Gemara in Megillah (32a) says we learn the halachos on Pesach itself, implying there's no obligation to know them before Pesach…