If possible, one should awaken at midnight and say Tikun Chatzot; lamenting the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash and the resultant loss of  Torah learning as well as the numerous Mitzvot we can no longer do. If getting up at midnight is not an option, one should get up before dawn to say Tikun Chatzot. [...]

A number of joyous events happened over the years on Tu B’Av. – It was the day the Generation-of-the-Wilderness realized that the sin of the spies had been forgiven, in the year 2488. – It was the day that the tribes were allowed to intermarry, including orphaned daughters (as per Bemidbar 36:8) once all those [...]

A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to wail and a time to dance – Ecclesiastes 3:4 There is a limit set for grieving. Even for a beloved relative the Torah forbids us to prolong our grief beyond the norm. The stages of grief are the initial week known as “shiva,” [...]

We mourn and fast on 9 B’Av since the Beit Hamikdash was burned to the ground. The fire was ignited on 9 B’Av in the afternoon and burned throughout the 10th of Av. Therefore the restrictions of  ”the 9 days” continue until after midday on the 10th of Av (July 21, Wednesday). The custom is [...]

On 9 B’Av (from sunset Monday afternoon – until nightfall on Tuesday evening) almost everybody needs to fast. Pregnant and nursing mothers need to fast on 9 B’Av even if  it causes them discomfort, unless it’s dangerous to their health.  During the first 7 days after childbirth, a mother is not allowed to fast. When in [...]

On the fast of 9 B’Av it is customary not to sit on chairs from the time the fast begins (Monday afternoon before sunset) until noon the following day (Tuesday). Instead, one sits on the floor. Anything within 3 tefachim (about 9″ – 24 cm) of  the floor is considered as being on the floor. [...]

The “Seudat Mafseket – final meal”  before the fast of 9 B’Av – is eaten while seated on the floor. However,  one may wear ones leather shoes during this meal. The meal typically consists of only a cold  hard boiled egg and bread which is dipped into ashes  (one does not have to eat the [...]

One may do “minor” work on the fast of 9 B’Av, such as turning on lights  and  driving. Any work that takes times, as well as all  business dealings,  should not be done until noon,  so as not to get distracted from mourning the destruction of  the  Bet Hamikdash – the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. [...]

Unless Moshiach comes first, the fast of  9 B’Av will start on Monday, 19 July,  afternoon and will last for about 25 hours until after nightfall on Tuesday, 20 July. The fast of 9 B’Av commemorates 5 tragedies that befell the Jewish people on that date: – It was decreed that the generation which left [...]

From Rosh Chodesh Av (11 July, 2010) until midday on 10th Av (21 July, 2010) is the period known as the “9 days“. The custom is to not eat meat and chicken and to not drink wine during the “9 days”, except on Shabbat. Food cooked together with meat should not be eaten – even if [...]

The  9th of Av is the 25 hour fast (this year starts:  sunset,  Monday, July 19) commemorating when the two Temples were both destroyed.  To display our mourning we do not wear leather shoes,  act intimately,  bathe for pleasure, or anoint.  Until noontime on Tuesday, we sit on low chairs or pillows, do not put on tefillin or tallit gadol, refrain [...]

B”H One of the more well known of Aesop’s fables is the following: An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice. He ordered his servants to bring in a bundle of sticks, and said to his eldest son, “break it.” The son strained and [...]

Steganography is a new word I have learned this week, defined in the dictionary as, “The art or practice of concealing a message, image, or file within another message, image, or file.”   Steganography was used by the cabal of Russian spies recently arrested in the USA to communicate intelligence information back to “Moscow Central.” [...]

Rabbi Leibel Reznick‘s authoritative 2010 Edition of  ”Touring Jerusalem: The Jewish Explorer’s Guide to the Old City of Jerusalem”  is now available for your iPhone. With your iPhone in hand, take this guided tour of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, replete with up-to-date maps and full-color photos. The guide gives detailed [...]

Abe and Sadie, an elderly couple, made a rare appearance in synagogue one Shavuot. After the service the rabbi welcomed them and asked them why they do not attend more often. Well, replied Abe, “at our age it is getting quite difficult, but Rabbi, at least we keep the Ten Commandments.” Tongue-in-cheek the rabbi replies, “Really, all [...]