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The words:
“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one”
are found in Deuteronomy 6:4.
For Jews, it is arguably the most important part of the liturgy.
In the days of the Roman Empire, in the first century A.D., Jews in their own country were forbidden to practice their religion.
But one martyr named [...]

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…Charles Darwin, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Queen Victoria, steam ships and fast moving trains, rampant poverty and child labor, great poets and painters – Victorian England was a very dynamic time and place…
…what better way is there to capture that magic than in the beautiful artwork of Michal David. Displayed here is the “Flower Girl Wall [...]

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The talented sculptor Razia Gershon was born in Israel and has focused her artwork from an early stage, on the human body and its aesthetic possibilities.
In her early career, Razia studied modern ballet under Gertrud Krauss and classical ballet under Mia Arbatova. She graduated from the Wingate Institute and worked as a physical and ballet [...]

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The hamsa is a palm-shaped amulet seen mainly in the Middle East and North Africa. It is often used in jewelry and wall hangings, as a defense against the evil eye.
Its origin is said to be found in ancient practices associated with the Phoenicians of Carthage.
Listen to this:

Archaeological evidence indicates that a downward pointing hamsa [...]

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I think that I have just found the most handsome piece of casual Jewish-inspired jewelry that I’ve ever seen.
It is a beautiful Tree of Life pendant on a string of Turquoise. The pendant includes the Tree of Life symbol with a Star of David cleverly formed in the center.
In Hebrew, the tree is known as [...]

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Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights starts on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar – which is a lunar calendar, similar to our own. This year it will start at sundown on Saturday, the 12th of December, and it will continue for eight days until sundown of Saturday the 19th of December.
The [...]

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On November 2nd I wrote about one Kabbalah secret of Hanukkah which has to do with the parallels between the soul and the Hanukkia, or menorah, namely we talked about the brighter and darker aspect of the flame.
For this installment I want to address not the nine flames or the candles, but instead the vessel [...]

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History gives one explanation behind the eight branches of the Hanukkah Menorah – Kabbalah gives another.
In Kabbalah, the number seven represents perfection.
That is because we see this number a lot in nature:
G-D Created the world in seven days, the Menorah in the Holy Temple had seven branches, there are seven seas, seven colors in [...]

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In Judaism the Menorah is a very important symbol. The Tabernacle in the Desert as well as the Holy Temple had in it a large golden, seven-branched candelabrum. It represented the Burning Bush which Moses saw.
During the holiday of Hanukkah, every Jewish home has a special Menorah with nine branches. Eight of the branches [...]

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Yesterday I had quite an experience at a winery and vineyard. This was not just any vineyard. It was Biblical in every sense. What I mean is, the guy who operates it, a man named Ariel Ben-Sheetrit, could have come out of the times of the Davidic kings of Israel. He lives just off the [...]

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