Sacred Speech Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer In the Garden of Eden, God commanded the man, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of

Sacred Speech Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer “Words spoken can never be taken back,” mused blogger Lilah Peck. “‘You have a huge nose!’ someone shouted at me in the first grade. I never noticed my nose before, but suddenly every time I looked

Sacred Speech Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said to Tavi his servant, “Go out and purchase a good cut of meat for me from the market,” so Tavi purchased tongue for him. Rabbi Shimon then said to him, “Go

Sacred Speech Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer On her 80th birthday, a feisty Jewish woman makes out her last will and testament, then visits her rabbi to discuss two final wishes. The first is that she be cremated. Knowing that argument is useless,

Sacred Speech Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer The Talmud tells of a man who prepared a party, but the invitation to his friend Kamtza mistakenly went to his sworn enemy, Bar Kamtza. When the host discovered his enemy at the party, he ordered,

Sacred Speech — a new series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer The new rabbi was mystified. Every Shabbat, an argument broke out during the service when it came time to recite the Shema. Half the congregation would tell everyone to rise: “We stand for

Judaism’s Worldview Series with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer A slave of the Hasmonean king, Alexander Yannai, killed a man and was brought to trial. Since the Torah required that even an ox accused of goring a person to death be testified against together with its master, the

Judaism’s Worldview Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Twenty-five miles southwest of Jerusalem, Tel Lachish towers over the Judean landscape, a multi-layered mound of destroyed and rebuilt settlements and major cities from 5,500 B.C.E. through the eras of Joshua, Kings, and Maccabees. There, archaeologists

Judaism’s Worldview Series  Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Two men appeared as disputants before Rabbi Heschel of Kraków, stated their claims, and left. As the rabbi deliberated, one man returned with a bag of gold coins and a request to decide the case in

Judaism’s Worldview Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Talmudic sages taught: “When the sun is eclipsed it is a bad omen for the entire world. The Gemara (commentary) tells a parable. To what is this matter comparable? To a