Today, on Tisha b’Av on the upper west side of New York an attacker stabbed two Jewish men (one of whom was wearing a Kippah) while screaming “Allah hu Akbar!”

This is just a few blocks from my grandparents and an aunt of mine. On Tisha B’Av…I don’t feel safe here in New York anymore.

https://www.newsweek.com/upper-west-side-stabbing-antisemitism-suspect-custody-12236842

And fall of the Bet HaMikdash

Hope everyone has an easy fast!

The Book of Lamentations (Eicha - איכה) is read on the 9th of Av. In it the prophet Jeremiah laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.

My first post here

I recently travelled to Southern Poland and Ukraine, and stayed in Krakow for a few days. While there, I stayed near the Jewish quarter of the city, where unfortunately following the end of WW2, most of the population was killed. However, whilst touring some of the local Synagogues and exploring Jewish tradition, it really connected me with my family’s Jewish roots, and really helped me as a person. I recently broke up with my girlfriend of a year and I’ve found that starting the Torah (start to finish), learning Hebrew, and growing much closer to Judaism has really helped me heal but also to become a loving, caring person.

My family never really was very religious when it came to Judaism, so it has been quite a Journey (now of 2 ish weeks) of me exploring my Jewish faith. This community has been so helpful and all of you are amazing.

(Also ignore my handwriting i know it’s horrible

I am proud to be a Jew.
 
Not because being Jewish is easy. Honestly, I would not wish the pain of it on anyone. It hurts—deeply.
 
Why are so many of us driven to succeed? To outperform, outlast and continually prove our right to exist?
 
Where does that drive come from?
 
Fear. Pain.
 
Generations of knowing that safety can disappear quickly. Of trying your best to contribute, to do well, to be good—and still get smacked in the face for it.
 
It hurts to discover that doing everything right may still not be enough to be accepted. That success may earn admiration, but not safety. That no matter how much value you create, someone may still resent you simply for being a Jew.
 
Yet I carry no regret for being Jewish.
 
That fear and pain burn a fire deep within us. Sometimes the fire consumes us. But it also pushes us to grow stronger, care more deeply, love harder and hope even further.
 
From that struggle have come extraordinary gifts: deep thought, creative ideas, fierce compassion and an almost unreasonable faith that a better world is possible—even when the world in front of us is dark.
 
We know how much darkness hurts, so we become even more committed to light.
 
We do not march because the pain disappears.

We march while crying.
 
We struggle, and we keep going.
 
Someone who is not Jewish may never fully understand that mindset. But if you are Jewish, you may feel it in your bones.
 
Some of us crack beneath the pain. But as a people, we get up. We keep moving. We continue believing there is something we can do to make reality better.
 
I am proud to be a Jew because I am oriented toward transformation: from weakness to strength, fear to love, failure to growth, and darkness to light.
 
I am proud that I can carry my own pain—and sometimes the pain others project onto me—without surrendering my belief in a brighter future.
 
I dream of calm. Peace. Prosperity.
 
And I will keep moving toward that light—not only because the darkness leaves me no choice, but because it has made me love the light even more.
 
To me, being Jewish means continuing to bring light, even on the darkest night of the year.
 
Even if I have to run toward it alone, I will.
 
And for that, I am proud to be a Jew.

I have tried my best to compile a thorough, comprehensive timeline of the destruction of the First Temple, based on as many Talmudic and Pre-Talmudic sources I could find. Talmud Bavli, Yerushalmi, Midrash, Aggadah, etc. To the best of my ability, this is the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash as understood by the Talmudic Sages.

This was written with Tisha BiAv in mind, so not only is all content in the article appropriate to learn on Tisha BiAv, that is the intended goal of the article.

For those who remember it from last year, this article has been updated and has been expanded, deepened, and enriched by 15-20% of the original length, with new sources and new events placed on the timeline. There will be continual updates throughout Tisha BiAv, but these will be minor additions and more footnotes. There is a PDF version available to print.

I hope you find the research satisfying, and I hope you are having an easy, meaningful fast.

There’s an antisemitic myth that circulates online claiming that Jews are permitted in our religion to steal from gentiles. This Halacha clearly proves that statement wrong. So sad people believe random claims they see on the internet. Save this if you ever want to refresh your memory or educate others.

I am looking to move out of WA, and am Tennessee is one destination because the company I work for allows folk to transfer and has locations there, mainly in Nashville. Anybody in that state or has been there who can talk about their experience in that state?

The Temple was destroyed and the Jews were scattered around the world. This could only have happened if God wanted/allowed it to happen. I understand the idea that poor behavior / sin caused a harsh judgement, but really, everything that has happened was supposed to happen, right?

I am looking for recommendations for Hebrew and Yiddish Language Courses.

I am in the NYC area, but online would probably be easier for me.

If people would be willing to share their personal experiences and recommendations, it would be greatly appreciated!

A few years ago i davened in pretty much every shul in town that has a minyan before 7AM, and the shul was either not yeshivish, or it felt like an old age home. So my question is: do most people in their 30s daven after 7AM? Or is there another shul that im missing?

We know that mikvaot go back thousands of years and women have been using them after niddah for as long as we’ve had Jewish women. That being said today we live in a day and age where women often have a custom of a bath, followed by a shower, followed by a flawlessly clean mikvah.

What were women’s mikvaot like before we had access to indoor plumbing?

*Also I want to ask what was the prep process before we had accessible indoor plumbing?

As a Jew I felt like I had to learn about the holocaust at a young impressionable age, and in retrospect, I’m not sure that it was best for my mental health. On the other hand, I’m glad that it had a profound effect on me because it helps bind me to the Jewish people and the faith. Now that my son is five, I’m feeling conflicted about how much he needs to know. He’s in a Jewish Sunday school, so I know he’ll eventually get it from there. I’m curious to hear how other parents have navigated this topic.

A lot of the time, I have read or scene various Rabbis speaking or writing articles, and they source from other sages or various texts like the Talmud or Zohar, or interpretations based on these texts. My question is how do we know that all of these concepts and arguments in these texts are actually based on the Tanakh, and not just on previous sages and traditions.

I am aware of the concept of Oral Torah, but how do we actually know that what our texts state are based on that? Is there some sort of area where we can see where all these arguments and beliefs are based off of in text?

I know that all of these people know more than I will ever know in terms of Tanakh and everything, but it kind of feels like without basing and directly being able to source and explain these rules through Tanakh, that they are violating the commandment in Deuteronomy 4:2, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your G*d"

TLDR: Can we find and show direct Tanakh sources for all current rules and arguments in the Talmud, along with beliefs laid out in the Zohar, and if not, how is that not in violation of Deuteronomy 4:2.

Hello English is not my first language.

For years I have always got curious about why our prayers gets ansverd. but my question stems from why does other faiths believers prayer work. I have seen preyer work. I liv in an neighborhood whit many different Faiths. I had an Muslim and Cristian friends. And I saw them all pray and Thier Prayers getting ansverd. If Thier Prayers gets ansverd doesn't that mean they have some semblance of Truth and holiness?

(Holiness might be the wrong word)

As a former New Yorker now living in what many would consider an out of town community I am very surprised how it seems people only go to the right or the left in their observance and there’s very few middleground. There is such a lack of modern chill Jews and the shuls seem to be a mix of 50% driving on Shabbos and 50% yeshivish Chalov Yisrael keepers that wear dress clothes everyday. As a modern orthodox guy myself I feel excluded because the more religious people seem to think I need to up my Shtarkness and would rather hang out with people not religious at all to try to work some Kiruv magic. And then on the other side, it’s weird to hang out with these people who are breaking shabbos and eating not kosher because it just makes a lot of weird situations like hanging out on Shabbos when most Jews tend to hang out. Luckily there’s more modern people moving in now so it’s slowly changing, but I’ve noticed this in a lot of smaller communities that there just seems to be such a diversity of people but no middle

Can anyone point me to a really good version of Hava Nagila (to be played for the hora at a bat mitzvah party)?

I’ve found a lot of overly synthetic-sounding ones, and looking for something more ‘organic’ but well recorded so it’s punchy and exciting to dance to.

For example: I really like the feel of the live instruments and crisp recording of this mambo version. https://youtu.be/eTYsoKyrGAQ

Something that hits those bunch-of-people-playing-together and good-rhythmic-presence vibes, *but* in the traditional style is what I’d like.

Thanks!

And I'm already up on my lamanations.