by Rabbi Yisrael Rutman In the Talmud there exists a dispute over whether the festival days (yomim tovim) should be devoted exclusively to spiritual matters, such as prayer and Torah study, or to a more mundane celebration, namely eating and drinking. There is no dispute, however, regarding Shavuot. On Shavuot all agree that the festivities
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by Rabbi Yisrael Rutman There is a Jewish way of saying hello. The Jewish custom is to greet a person saying, Shalom aleichem (“Peace unto you”). In returning the greeting, however, the order is reversed, Aleichem Shalom. This is not merely the Jewish version of “Hello,” and “Hello yourself.” As in all Jewish customs, there
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