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Q. How many times am I supposed to shake the Lulav?

A. At least once each day of the Sukkot holiday, aside for Shabbat. At the very least, once during the holiday. It’s a beautiful and easy Mitzvah with a great message and enjoyable vigor.…

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Q. Why would different calendars list different times for the end of Yom Kippur?

A. (1) Check to be sure they’re from the same region. Depending on the longitude and latitude – timing differs. (2) There are several opinions in Jewish Law in terms of defining “dark”

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Q. Where can I do “Tashlich” around here, and until when?

A. WHAT: “Tashlich” is a prayer ceremony said near a body of “living” water (i.e. with fish) “casting away our sins” and asking for G-d’s protection for the New Year

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Q. What’s the difference between Revenge and Punishment?

A. Revenge is a subjective, personal, wild form of justice, untempered by objectivity and truth. Often the focus of revenge is a sense of satisfaction or enjoyment, while punishment is about consequence, and

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Q. What is Borscht?

A. A traditional Russian beet soup. There are all kinds, some with vegetables and/or sour cream, others may have meat chunks or eggs. It can be served hot or cold. The commercial variety (you often see near

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Q. Is it Shabbos, Shabbat, or Sabbath?

A. All of the above. Shabbos is the Ashkenasic pronunciation, Shabbat is Sefardic and Modern Hebrew and Sabbath is English possibly based on Latin or Greek. Shabbos House is called this way, even though it r

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Q. Why do some people shake when they pray?

A. “All my limbs will say..” (Psalms 35:10) is a source for involving all the body in prayer. When listening to music, people often do body motions, too. Think of groovin’ at a concert. It

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Q. Honest Weights & Measures seems like an old rule, where do we see it today?

A. Gas Stations are one place. Look closely at the pump and you’ll find a sticker from some County Dept certifying that the pump is accurate. If not, how would you know that you indeed pumped 10 gallon

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Q. How do Israeli Banks operate if we can’t charge interest?

A. There’s a document formula known as ‘heter iska’ which converts loans into business type investments, which avoid the interest-loan prohibition. Israeli banks have this option on all typ

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Q. What is a ‘Baal Teshuvah’?

A. Literally: ‘a master of return’. It refers to those who make meaningful transformative life-changes to a more religiously observant lifestyle.…