Jewish Holidays

In the wake of Napoleon's fall, the Seer of Lublin tried to hasten the final redemption. The time chosen by him to do this was Seder Night, for, in the words Sages, “In Nisan they were redeemed, and in Nisan they will be redeemed in the future.”

The people of Bombay inquire of Ben Ish Chai as to whether or not there is a possible violation of Jewish law in the fact that non-Jewish servants bring chametz into the homes of their Jewish employees and eat there in the privacy of their own rooms.

One of the more colorful of the Mishnaic Sages, a personage whose towering image continues to stir the imagination to this very day, is Choni the Circle-maker. What is the connection between Choni the Circle-maker and the Hebrew month of Adar?

The Sages say that the Almighty suspended Mount Sinai above the Israelites like an inverted cask and said, “If you accept the Torah, fine; if not, here will be your grave.” Why did God have to coerce the Children of Israel into receiving the Torah?