Confessions of a Yom Kippur Mind

From MyJewishLearning.com:

While confessing sins and making amends are possible at any time, Yom Kippur focuses on confession. Known by the Hebrew word vidui, the Yom Kippur confession is a public and communal act, recited in the plural. Forgiveness is asked for horrendous sins that the vast majority of individuals did not commit. There are two forms of confession on Yom Kippur; the long confession called the "al chet" (for the sin) and the short alphabetic confession known simply as the vidui (confession).

Don't Eat The Brown Matzah

Before Passover, we remove all the chametz from our house. You can burn it, nullify it, or sell it. But don't eat it.

Prostishushan

Purim is a joyous holiday that commemorates a time when Jews living in Persia were saved from extermination.

Tu B'Av is known as a day of joy, love, and matchmaking.

Bangitout hosts parties for these holidays and more, catering to a largely Modern Orthodox crowd.

Countdown

Happy New Year!

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, but there''s no harm in celebrating the secular New Year, too.

Lotta' Latkes

Latkes are nice, oily, fried cakes of grated potatoes traditionally served on Hanukkah.

If you are not latkes intolerant, try cooking some with this latke recipe.

Spin the Dreidel

On Hanukkah we spin the dreidel, a gambling game in which a four-sided top with the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimel, Hei, and Shin, is spun.

Bleak Friday

This week is Parshah Vayishlach. It's also Thanksgiving week, a period of time notorious for television repeats.

Hard Pill to Swallow

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, during which Jews abstain from eating and drinking. These restrictions can be lifted when there are health issues. For example, you are permitted to drink a little water when swallowing pills to avoid getting them stuck in your esophagus.

You should not wash your pills down with Pilsner.

May You Be Inscribed

"L'shanah tovah" is a traditional greeting for Rosh Hashanah that means "for a good year", short for "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem", which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

May you be inscribed on JDate in the New Year.

Israeli Independence Day

Yom Ha'atzmaut, or Israel Independence Day, commemorates the declaration of independence of the State of Israel in 1948.

For more info from the Jewish Robot, watch my animations, "Teh History of Israel" and "Elijah-pendence Day".

Door Post Haste

Passover celebrates the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt. God told Moses to order the Israelites to mark their doorpost with the blood of a lamb so the Angel of Death would "pass over" their homes and not slay the first born (the tenth plague).

Korban Pesach (the Paschal Lamb) is the sacrifice that God commanded the Children of Israel to offer during the night before the Exodus from Egypt.

Haman et al.

It is customary for Jews to celebrate Purim by eating Hamentaschen, triangular fruit-filled pastries shaped like Haman's hat. Poppy seed is a popular Hamentaschen filling.

A less known detail in the Megillah, Haman also had ten sons—Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha—who were hanged along side him on the gallows that had originally been built to hang Mordechai.

Bemoan Valentine

Valentine's Day is considered by many to be just another Hallmark holiday. It also is not a Jewish holiday, though that has never stopped us from celebrating it.

Trees in Season

There is actually no special blessing said on Tu B'Shevat, the Rosh HaShanah for trees that falls on the 15th day of the month of Shevat. This usually comes around February, when the mirth and merriment of Christmas is finally starting to wear off.

Oh, it's also Groundhog Day!

'Tis the Season

Chanukah falls around the same time as Christmas, leading many people to believe the holidays are of equal religious significance.

However, unlike Christmas, Chanukkah is more a celebration of revolution, and is not considered a very important religious holiday.

Happy Hanukkah!

Bus ta' Move

Many Jews celebrate Thanksgiving because it is widely regarded as an American holiday, with little or no roots in Christianity.

But some folks maintain that Thanksgiving is rooted in the history of the Pilgrims, also known as Christian "Separatists".

Tear the Roof Off the Sukkah

Sukkot is the last of the pilgrimage festivals, a joyous holiday that marks the Season of our Rejoicing.

Sukkah means booth. According to Jewish law, a sukkah must have at least two and a half walls (preferably four), and a roof that is made of vegetation, with enough openings to provide a view of the sky and stars.

Besides Shabot on Sukkot, there are plenty other webcomics that break the fourth wall.

Fast Easy

"Have an easy fast" is a common Yom Kippur greeting.

"Gemar Chatima Tovah" means "May you be sealed [in the Book of Life] for a happy year"

Is it true what I've heard about Modox women in their 30's?

Bread and Water

On Rosh Hashanah, it is traditional to "cast off" (tashlikh) our sins from the previous year by throwing bread into a body of flowing water, preferably one inhabited by fish.

Too lazy to get to a natural body of flowing water? Cast off your sins online at Tashlich.com!

Gefilte fish is a traditional meal, popular during Jewish holidays, that many would say is an acquired taste.

Lag B'ummer

Lag Ba'Omer is a holiday with many explanations for celebration. One excuse to celebrate is that it commemorates the day the plague ended that killed Rabbi Akiva's students.

Lag Ba'Omer falls on the thirty-third day in the counting of the omer: Lag comes from the Hebrew alphanumeric equivalent of 33; Omer is the grain offering.

I am almost certain this is why we celebrate by drinking as much pure grain alcohol as possible.