Mitzvahland Judaica

what is the holiday and why 8 days? in a nutshell When the Second Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BC Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. He banned brit milah (circumcision) and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the temple. Antiochus's actions provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattityahu, a Jewish priest, and his five sons Yochanan, Shimon, Eleazar, Yonatan, and Yehuda led a rebellion against Antiochus starting with  Mattityahu  killing first a Jew who wanted to comply with Antiochus's order to sacrifice to Zeus and then a Greek official who was to enforce the government's behest. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi. By 166 BC  Mattityahu  had died, and  Yehuda  took his place as leader. By 165 BC the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Chanukkah  was instituted to celebrate this...

To understand the significance of the M ezuzah , we must first explore the text written in it. As we have said before, these are the two  Torah  portions:  Shema and  Vehayah . These two portions, along with a third, comprise the prayer  Shema Yisrael... –  “Hear, O’  Israel ...”– which every observant Jew recites every day at least twice, in the morning and in the evening. This is the main Jewish prayer , the first a child learns and the last a Jew utters before returning his soul to the Creator. Let us look closely into these portions of Torah . Shema Text Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our  G‑d , the L-rd is One. And you shall love the L-rd your G‑d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way, when you lie down and whe...

Wearing a thin scarlet or crimson string ( Hebrew : חוט השני) as a type of bracelet is a Jewish folk custom as a way to ward off misfortune brought about by the " evil eye " ( Hebrew : עין הרע). The tradition is popularly thought to be associated with Kabbalah and religious forms of Judaism. The red string itself is usually made from thin scarlet wool thread. It is worn as a bracelet or band on the left wrist of the wearer (understood in some Kabbalistic theory as the receiving side of the spiritual body), knotted seven times, and then sanctified with Hebrew blessings. The Red String protects us from the influences of the Evil Eye . Evil eye is a very powerful negative force. It refers to the unfriendly stare and unkind glances we sometimes get from people around us. Envious eyes and looks of ill will affect us, stopping us from realizing our full potential in every area of our life Rachel and The Red String Its not just any  Red String it went through a ...