Holidays Archives - The Boiling Point

Sukkot Lessons from Kohelet

October 11, 2019

It is custom among Jews of Ashkenazi descent to read Sefer Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, from the Ketuvim on the Shabbat of Chol Hamoed or Shemini Atzeret....

Shavuot in Jerusalem: Anticipation rewarded, then and now

June 12, 2019

The morning I flew to Israel, I woke up at 6:20 am even though my alarm was not supposed to go off until 7:15. The anticipation boiled through me as I final...

Purim talent show brought community together with costumes, nerves and cheers

May 14, 2019

Freshman Victory Fuchs sat anxiously in her seat as she waited to be called up to the stage in front of the whole school last month for the Purim Talent...

VIDEO: Shalhevet’s Yom Kippur repenters

September 18, 2018

In varying sounds of the shofar, new opportunities and a fresh start

September 9, 2018

Rosh Hashanah is one of my favorite holidays, as it reminds me that I have a new year ahead of me full of new experiences, challenges and successes. It...

The chametz in your closet: Mitzvot of Pesach in an age of freedom

March 28, 2018

There are many things that make the nights of Passover different from all other nights. The classic examples are: On other nights we don’t dip more...

PURIM: At the crossroads of chance and fate

February 28, 2018

Among the five Megillot and the five books of Moses, the story of Esther transcends in complexity and uniqueness. Most women in Chumash and the Scroll...

Under twinkling lights, Green Team offers learning, food from garden and live performances for Tu B’Shvat

February 3, 2018

“The mishnah of Rosh Hashanah says that Tu B’shevat is really a technical day, the day that marks the new year for trees,” Rabbi David Block told...

Slumbering in the sukkah?

October 11, 2017

The Gemara in Masechet Sukkah (Sukkah 28b) explains that the requirement to dwell in the sukkah during Sukkot is to make it a temporary home, which incl...

YOM KIPPUR REPENTERS from Shalhevet Boiling Point on Vimeo.

YOM KIPPUR: Someone else we should forgive

September 29, 2017

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It is a day for repentance, atonement, forgiveness. But something has always bothered me about that, ...

YOM KIPPUR: Tips for an easy fast

September 28, 2017

Entering my fourth time fasting fully on Yom Kippur, and knowing that I'm always nervous and overwhelmed by it, I've made a list of helpful do’s and dont’s ...

Not just apples and honey: Sephardic Rosh Hashanah

September 19, 2017

The beginning of the New Year is an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start again. Aware of life’s complexities and that no year is ever going to be perfect, Jewish tradition offers us the opportunity to begin anew, with the hope that any negativity from our past will be wiped away, and that we will hopefully avoid all potential negativity in the coming year.