Dear Jew in the City- I heard something about blessing the first buds of a tree. That’s really neat. But when and why are we supposed to do this? Sincerely, Tree Hugger   Dear Tree, The Sages instituted brachos (blessings) to be recited for a number of reasons. We recite brachos when performing mitzvos, […]

The little-known Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer starts tonight and goes through tomorrow. This day of late-spring fun interrupts a period of national mourning for the Jewish people. How did this annual pre-Memorial Day festival come to be? Two thousand years ago, the great Torah sage Rabbi Akiva, who was considered to be the best teacher of […]

Dear Jew in the City, What’s the deal with kitniyos? Especially being that we know now it’s not chametz, and some Jews eat it and some don’t… Sincerely, Rice on Pesach Dear Rice, Kitniyos (or kitniyot) is typically translated as “legumes” and the Ashkenazi practice is not to eat them on Passover. This isn’t because we used to […]