Romanian-speaking Jews are a comparatively recent phenomenon. A few Jews lived in ancient Dacia before the Romans invaded. However, the heyday of Romanian Jewry came

A street called Old Jewry in London’s famous Square Mile is all that remains of the Jews who lived there from 1066 until their expulsion

Ethiopian Jews emerged into the full glare of the modern world in 1984, after centuries of isolation. They arrived in Israel in droves under Operation

Hitbodedut (self-seclusion) is considered by many Chassidim as an essential component of prayer. In being alone with God, and giving voice to their desire for

The word Yizkor means ‘may He remember’ and is the name of a short prayer service held on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and the

Kaddish is often described as the Jewish prayer for the dead because it is recited by mourners on behalf of their deceased relatives, but this

DIFFERENT NAMES FOR GOD IN THE BIBLE ‘Hear Oh Israel – the Lord our God, the Lord is One’. The Shema prayer is the basic

The Hebrew term for prayer is ‘tefillah’. The word ‘pray’ in Hebrew is ‘pallel’, from the root, pe, lamed lamed, meaning ‘to judge oneself’. Thus

HALLEL On the first 2 days of Pesach we say the full Hallel during morning services at the synagogue. ‘Hallel’ means ‘praise’ and is the

Shabbat is the most important day of the week for Jews, because it is a day on which we remember that God created the world

There are many sacred writings in Judaism, all of which teach Judaism’s adherents how to live ethical and moral lives. The writings are a major

The history of Kabbalah stretches back to Biblical times, and it is still very much a living, developing tradition today. What originated as an esoteric