by Richard H. Schwartz
Today is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the beginning of the month before Rosh Hashanah, when the shofar is blown at weekday morning services (except on Shabbat), and Jews are to examine their deeds and consider how to align their lives more with Jewish values.
When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, Rosh Chodesh Elul was a New Year for Animals, a day devoted to tithing for animal sacrifices. After the second temple was destroyed in 70 CE, there was no longer a need for this holiday and today very few Jews ...
The high heat and humidity of summer is here. In a prior Planet Jewish post, we provided some simple tips to keep your home cool the environmental way over the summer. Below are some additional tips that should help you reduce waste (baal tashchit) and honor God’s creation, the Earth, through the dog days of August. Follow these tips even if you are forced to run your air conditioning most or all of the day due to extreme heat.
Place a floor fan at the top of your basement: the basement is naturally the coolest part of your house. Placing a floor fan ...
