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Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 On Tisha B’Av we mourn the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temples. The Talmud in Tractate Taanit (30) states that all mitzvot that apply to a mourner during the shiva also apply to the entire Jewish people on Tisha B’Av. In other words, according to halacha we are all sitting shiva on Tisha B’Av. But how can this be? For the halacha states that if a close relative has died and we did not know about it until after 30 days, there will be no formal shiva. We would sit shiva symbolically for only an hour, and then get up and go...

What is Hanukkah Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greek superpower in the second century BCE, during the time of the Second Holy Temple. The Greeks emphasized external beauty, and attempted to secularize the Jews by abolishing key the Jewish practices of circumcision, Shabbat, and Torah study – under penalty of death. Many Jews (called Hellenists) began to assimilate into Greek culture, decaying the foundation of Jewish life and practice. The story of Hanukkah is about this clash of cultures. When the Greeks challenged the Jews to sacrifice a pi...