Posts Tagged "cherem"
What Did My Foremothers Eat? What My DNA Analysis Revealed!
Published in The Philadelphia Jewish Voice Where did my ancestors live? What was their culture and cuisine like? I have some oral family history to work with, but I have always wished that there were some scientific way to know. In the year 2003, the Human Genome Project announced that it had mapped the approximately 25,000 genes of the human genome. Gene Base founded “the world’s first online personal genomics DNA database” in 2005. They offer DNA tests to help you trace your ancestral routes. I could finally find out how much of the oral tradition was correct, and what was unknown or forgotten. Last summer I decided to take the test. My...
Read MoreWhy The Shofar Is Cool
Did you know that the shofar is over 4000 years old? It was used by the Ancient Hebrews for ceremonial purposes. Because it was not considered a musical instrument, its design has remained unchanged. The shofar is the only instrument from the time of the Temple that is still used in Jewish ritual today. In The Torah, Mishna, And Talmud The Mishna recounts that there were two types of shofarot that were used in the Temple. For Rosh Hashanah, there was a shofar made from the horn of the ibex. It was decorated with gold. The only specific commandment for Rosh Hashanah is to sound the shofar. This shofar was also sounded to mark the year of shmita, or...
Read More
Recent Comments