Author Archives: Rabbi Evan
I show the way Jewish wisdom make our lives richer and happier. In particular, I help Jews appreciate their heritage and Christians uncover the Jewish roots of their faith. Get my FREE Jewish holidays cheat sheet by clicking here.
The land of Israel has two main bodies of water: the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. They are both fed by the Jordan River. Yet, they differ significantly.
[featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]The Sea of Galilee is full of life. It has greenery, fish, and living creatures. The Dead Sea, as its name implies, has no life. What’s the difference?
The Dead Sea, as Jonathan Sacks has pointed out, receives water, but does not give it. The Sea of Galilee both receives and gives. In other words, the Dead Sea is a reservoir. It keeps its water for itself.
The Sea of Galilee is a spring. It gives its water to others. In that giving, it becomes alive.
This geographic feature has a lesson for each us. Giving enhances living. The more we give, the more we live. How? Continue reading
Speaking to a Polish priest friend recently, I asked why we had so many Polish-born priests here in Chicago. The obvious reason is that Chicago the largest-speaking Polish-speaking population outside of Warsaw.
[featured-image single_newwindow=”true”]He revealed to me, however, something more profound.
During the Cold War, the church was where young Poles found freedom. During a time of misery, the church was where they found hope. The church was where they found generosity. The church was where they were human beings, not pawns in a political showdown. Continue reading
In a recent interview Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was asked why he wears the same shirt everyday. He answered in the same way Steve Jobs answered a similar question.
[featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]He wants to focus his brainpower for the big questions. Deciding what to wear every day, he said, would be a needless waste of intellectual capital.
Zuckerberg is known to be a minimalist in his lifestyle, and this answer reflects that philosophy. It may also reflect some of the lessons he learned growing up at his synagogue. While Judaism does not embrace simplicity in the same Zen Buddhism does, several core practices embody it. Continue reading
On the most sacred Jewish holiday of the year–Yom Kippur–we literally imagine our own funeral. Men traditional wear a white sash that will also serve as their burial shroud. The purpose is to picture our own death in a way that helps us live more fully.
What if, however, we could not only imagine our death, but choose it. And what if that choice seemed the right and dignified thing to do. Continue reading
A student once asked asked the great Rabbi Hillel to sum up all of Judaism while standing on one foot.
[featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]Hillel answered, “What is hateful to you, do not do to another. All the rest is commentary: Now go and study.”
Here are a few things for you to study as you learn about the world’s oldest religion.
1. Jewish History Timeline: An overview of major events in Jewish life over the last 4000 years.
2. All the Jewish Holidays on 1 Page
3. Frequently Asked Questions:
What Other Questions Do You Have? Drop me a line and I’ll add it to the page.
Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Traditions include eating apples dipped in honey and blowing the shofar (ram’s horn). Most Jews attend synagogue on these days and the preceding evening.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
Yom Kippur is considered by Jews to be the holiest and most solemn day of the year. Fasting begins at sundown and ends after nightfall the following day. Most Jews attend synagogue on this day and the preceding evening.
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)
Sukkot is a seven-day festival, also known as the Feast of Booths, the Festival of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles, or just Tabernacles. It is one of the three pilgrimage festivals mentioned in the Bible. Sukkot is celebrated by the building of a sukkah, or temporary dwelling, outdoors.
Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law)
This holiday immediately follows the holidays of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret, and it concludes and begins anew the annual reading cycle of the Torah (Five Books of Moses), which is the Jewish Bible.
Hanukkah (Festival of Lights)
Hanukkah (or Chanukah) is an eight-day festival marked by the lighting of candles—one on the first night, two on the second and so on—using a special candle holder called a menorah or chanukiah. Although not a major Jewish holiday, its popularity has increased in recent years, especially among American Jews. Traditions include a game involving the spinning of dreidels (tops), eating potato latkes (pancakes) and gift-giving.
Tu B’Shevat
Tu B’Shevat is a holiday intimately connected to the agricultural cycle of the Land of Israel. Today, this holiday is often celebrated by planting saplings and eating fruits and nuts.
Purim
Purim is one of the most joyous holidays on the Jewish calendar. Purim commemorates the events that took place in the Book of Esther. Traditions include masquerading in costumes and giving care packages to the poor and the needy. Learn more.
Passover (Pesach)
Passover (or Pesach) commemorates the liberation of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. A feast called a seder is held on the first two nights and sometimes on the final two nights of the eight- day holiday. No leavened food (e.g., bread, cake) or anything containing wheat is eaten during Passover.
Concluding Days of Passover (Pesach)
During the last two days of Passover, no work is permitted.
Shavuot (Feast of Weeks)
Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, is also know as “Pentecost.” According to Rabbinic tradition, the Ten Commandments were given on this day. It is traditional to eat dairy meals during Shavuot.
Courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
CHRONOLOGY OF JEWISH HISTORY
| DATE | JEWISH HISTORY IN PALESTINE | JEWISH PERSONALITIES | JEWISH HISTORY IN THE WEST (Europe & The Americas) | JEWISH HISTORY IN ASIA, AFRICA, AUSTRALIA |
2000 BCE |
Wanderings of the Patriarchs(Hebrew Oral Traditions) c/2000-1500Hyksos Age 1720-1570)
Sojourn in Egypt Egyptian control of Canaan
Amarna Age – Tel-el-Amarna Letters (The Habiru)
Israelite invasion, conquest of Canaan c. 1250 The Judges 1235-1020
Philistine invaders c. 1100 |
Abraham c. 1700 (?)Jacob and Esau
Joseph
Moses Joshua
Samson Samuel Saul (1020-1000) |
Migration of the Hebrews from Ur in Mesopotamia
Sojourn in Egypt Oppression of Hebrews by Pharaoh (Rameses II?)
Exodus under Moses c. 1290 |
|
| 1000 BCE | Empire of David & Solomon (1000-925)Divided Monarch (925)Shishak Invasion (924)Israel falls to Assyria (721)
Judah falls to Babylonia, 1st Temple Destroyed (586) Cyrus the Great frees Judeans (536) Temple rebuilt (516) Reforms of Nehemiah & Ezra Pentateuch Canonized Greek Rule (334-323) Ptolemaic & Seleucid Rule (323-167) Maccabean Revolt (167) Rededication of Temple (165) Strife between Sadducees & Pharisees (200-100) Roman capture of Jerusalem (63) Birth of Jesus (5) Herod, tyrannical King of Judea (40-4) |
David 1000-961)Solomon (961-925)ElijahIsaiah
Josiah Jeremiah (626-582) Ezekiel (c. 600) Zerubbabel (c. 520)
Nehemiah (c. 445) Ezra (c. 398)
Judas Maccabeus (166-163)
Hillel (70 BCE-10CE?) |
Jews become merchants and farmers in Greece and Italy Jews settle as traders in Spain, France and other parts of the Roman Empire |
Arabian and African trade with SolomonHiram of Tyre becomes ally of Solomon10 Tribes of Israel lost in Assyria
Exiles from Judah in Babylonia Edict of Cyrus (536) Jewish community in Persia Jewish merchants in Turkey and Crimea Growing Jewish community in Egypt Scriptures translated into Greek at Alexandria by Jewish scholars (Septuagint) Frontiers of Cyrenaica, Cyprus & Sinai defended by Jews (270) Refugees and traders in Bombay (175) |
| 1 CE | Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea (27-37)Jewish-Roman War (66-73)Fall of Jerusalem (70)Fall of Masada (73)
Bar Kochba Revolt (132-135) Expulsion of Jews from Judea
Mishna compiled (c. 200)
Palestinian Academies; Jerusalem (Palestinian) Talmud compiled, (c. 400)
Christian-Byzantine rule (500-614) Persians rule (614) Moslem rule (638) Kabalistic writings first appear Golden age under Moslem rule (800-1000) |
Josephus (c. 37-100)Akiba ben Joseph (c. 50-132)
Simeon Bar Kochba (50-135)
Judah Ha-Nasi (c. 135-210)
Rabbi Ashi (c.325-427)
Saadia ben Joseph (Gaon) (882-894) Gershom ben Judah (960-1040) Samuel Hanagid (993-1055) |
Christian rule of Roman Empire established by Constantine; Persecution of Jews begins
Forced confessions and expulsion of Jews from Spain Migrations to Germany Moslem conquests brings Jews back to Spain Byzantine refugees in Nice Jews brought to England Jewish culture in Spain flourishes-Golden Age(900-1100) |
Babylonian Academies (Sura & Pumpedita)
Completion of Babylonian Talmud (c. 500)
Jewish traders from Turkestan and refugees from Persia settle in China (c. 600-900) Mohammed & Rise of Islam Khazaria converts to Judaism (700) Jews prosper under Umayyads & Abbasids
Karaite (Scripturalists) revolt begins (767)
Radanite traders between China & Europe |
| 1000 CE | First Crusade (1096-1099)Crusaders take Jerusalem, establish Latin Kingdom (1099)
Fall of Jerusalem to Saladin (1187)
Mamelukes revolt, seize power (1250)
Last Crusader town falls to Mamelukes (1291) |
Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021-1058)Rashi (1040-1105)Abraham ibn Ezra (1070-1138)
Abraham ibn Daud (1110-1180) Moses Maimonides (Rambam) (1135-1204)
Meir of Rothenburg (1215-1293)
Jacob ben Asher (1269-1340)
Joseph Karo (codifier) )1488-1575) |
First Crusade (1096) begins 400 years of repression, massacres, and expulsions of Jews in EuropeDecline of Jewish center in SpainEngland expels Jews (1290)
French Jews expelled (1306-1394) Jews blamed for Black Death (plague) (c.1350) Jewish community in Poland and Lithuania Germany expels Jews (1450) Spanish inquisitions & expulsions (1482-1492) Portuguese Inquisition (1496) |
Khazar community destroyed (1016)
Kaifeng synagogue in China built (1163) Union of Moslems under Saladin
Decline of Jewish Center in Persia
Sephardic Jews settle in North Africa |
| 1500 CE | Ottoman Turks annex Palestine (1517)Marranos, Kabbalists, Talmudists, etc. return to PalestineAshkenazi Jews immigrate to Palestine
Kabbalist center established at Safed
Economic decline in Palestine |
Gracia Mendes (1510-1569)Moses Isserles (codifier) (1520-1572)Maharat (1520-1609)
Menasseh ben Israel (1604-1657) Sabbatai Zevi (false Messiah) (1626-1676) Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) Isaac Aboba de Fonseca (c.1640)
Jacob Israel Emden (1697-1776) |
Spanish & Portuguese Jews flee to Ital y, Greece, Turkey & North AfricaJews settle in South America to escape InquisitionMarranos settle in Amsterdam
Tolerant Dutch rule in Brazil (1640-1654) until return of Portuguese
First Jews arrive in American colonies (1654) Cromwell allows Jews in England (1657) New World Auto-da-fe |
Ottoman Empire receptive to expelled Jews from Europe
Iraqi Jews settle in Bombay (1680) Jews settle in South Africa |
| 1700 CE | Haskalah (Enlightenment) modernization begins (1750)Napoleon invades Palestine (1789)
Mohammed Ali of Egypt occupies Palestine (1831-1840) European intervention – restoration of Turkish rule
New City of Jerusalem founded (1860)
Return to Zion (First Aliyah of Jewish Immigrants) |
Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism (1700-1760)Gaon of Vilna, Talmudist, leader of Mitnagdim (1720-1797)Jacob Frank (1726-1791)Moses Mendelsohn, “reformer” (1729-1786)
Meyer Rothschild (1743-1812) Moses Montefiore(1784-1885) Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of American Reform Judaism (1819-1900) Baron Rothschild (1845-1934) Theodor Herzl, founder of modern Zionism (1860-1904) Mendele Mocher Seforim (1835-1917) Solomon Schechter (1850-1915) |
Rise of Hasidism in Russia & Poland (1700)Cossacks massacre Jews (1750)French Jews become citizens (1790)Pale of Settlement in Russia (1791)
Dutch Jews become full citizens (1796) Napoleonic Sanhedrin Russian persecutions (1824) Odessa pogrom (1871) Czar assassinated, more pogroms (1881) May Laws in Russia (1882-1914) Russian refugees to England & U.S. (1824-1919) Zionist movement begins with Zionist Congress in Basle (1897) |
Decline of Jewish community in China
Jewish immigration to Australia (1817)
Opening of Suez Canal (1869) |
| 1900 CE | Second AliyahBritish occupy Palestine-Balfour Declaration (1917)Arab violence (1930, 1936)
British restrictions on Jewish immigration
United Nations vote to partition Palestine (November 29, 1947) State of Israel established (May 14, 1948) Jews defeat invading Arab armies in War of Independence Terrorist activities by Arabs Sinai Campaign (1956)
Six Day War (June 5-11, 1967) Occupation of Jerusalem, Sinai, West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights Continued Arab-Israeli border strife |
Sholom Aleichem (Yiddish author) (1859-1916)Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935)Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)Louis Brandeis (1856-1941)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Stephen S. Wise (1874-1949) Chaim Weizmann (1874-1952) Abraham Cahan (1860-1951) Sholem Asch (1880-1957)
David ben Gurion (1886) Marc Chagall (1887) Golda Meir (1889)
Sally Preisand (first woman ordained) (1972) |
Dreyfus affair in France (1894-1906)Black Hundreds Massacre in Russia (1905)Mendel Beilis ritual murder case (1911)World War I (1914-1918)
Balfour Declaration (1917) Russian Revolution ends Pale (1917) Rise of Hitler and Holocaust Reform Columbus Platform (1937)
Jews repressed in USSR (Doctor’s Trial) Postwar exodus of Jews to Israel
UN Attempts for Middle East peace
Jews able to leave USSR
|
Ottoman Empire collapses
Arab states achieve independence (1917)
Soviet Jewish autonomous state in Birobidjan (est. 1928)
Asian Jews in large numbers immigrate to Israel
Continuing Arab hostility to Israel; Intifadas. |
Adapted from JEWISH HERITAGE, Hammond Publishing Co.,
The eternal question of religion is why do bad things happen to good people. Hundreds of thousands of volumes have addressed the questions. We still yearn for a satisfying answer.
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The horrific and highly-visible impact of hurricanes and natural disaster continually raise this question. How can we come to grips with thousands of homeless families, a couple killed while walking a dog, a woman electrocuted in front of a fallen transformer, and other horrors? How do we come to grips with broken promises, betrayals, senseless hatred?
The Bible offers two main answers. I will add a third articulated most popularly by Rabbi Harold Kushner, who wrote When Bad Things Happen to Good People
