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Selichot Before Rosh Hashanah: Ashkenazi Practice
Sources outline the Ashkenazi custom of reciting Selichot in preparation for Rosh Hashanah, establishing that at least four days of Selichot must precede the holiday. The practice begins on the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah, or earlier if necessary to ensure the minimum four-day period.
ד' ימים קודם ר״ה
The Hundred Shofar Blasts of Rosh HaShana
Sources explore the requirement to sound one hundred blasts on Rosh HaShana and the connection between the shofar's teruah sound and Sisera's mother's lamentation. Classical rabbinic sources establish the obligation through the repetition of the word teruah in Torah, while later authorities detail the precise sequence and number of blasts to reach the customary total.
יוֹם תְּרוּעָה יִהְיֶה לָכֶם
The Hundred Shofar Blasts of Rosh Hashanah
Sources explore the scriptural basis for sounding the shofar on Rosh Hashanah and explain the rabbinic arrangement of one hundred blasts across multiple sequences. The sources address how the tradition developed to accommodate Talmudic uncertainty about the nature of the teruah sound, with repeated patterns of tekiah-shevarim-teruah combinations ensuring proper fulfillment of the mitzvah.
זִכְרוֹן תְּרוּעָה מִקְרָא־קֹֽדֶשׁ
Elul: Spiritual Preparation and Return
Sources explore Elul as a season of introspection, repentance, and spiritual awakening in preparation for the High Holidays. The texts present teshuvah (return) as both a practical turning away from wrongdoing and a deeper restoration of the soul's connection to God.
עוּרוּ יְשֵׁנִים מִשְּׁנַתְכֶם וְנִרְדָּמִים הָקִיצוּ
The Shofar's Call to Spiritual Awakening
Sources explore how the shofar blast on Rosh Hashanah serves as a spiritual awakening, rousing the soul from indifference to examine deeds and return to God before the day of judgment. Classical, Hasidic, and modern sources converge on the shofar's symbolic and metaphysical power to inspire teshuvah and renew one's relationship with the divine.
עוּרוּ יְשֵׁנִים מִשְּׁנַתְכֶם וְנִרְדָּמִים הָקִיצוּ מִתַּרְדֵּמַתְכֶם
Shofar on Rosh Hashanah When It Falls on Shabbat
Sources examine the biblical foundations for shofar-blowing on Rosh Hashanah and the rabbinic rulings that prohibit it outside the Temple when the holiday coincides with Shabbat. The passages address the tension between the Torah's command and Shabbat restrictions, as well as the historical shift in practice after the Temple's destruction.
יום טוב של ראש השנה שחל להיות בשבת — במקדש היו תוקעין אבל לא במדינה
The Meaning of Simanim on Rosh Hashanah
Sources explore the spiritual purpose and practice of eating symbolic foods (simanim) on Rosh Hashanah, explaining how these foods and their accompanying prayers serve as ritual cues to direct one's heart toward blessing and Divine judgment. The sources trace the custom from its Talmudic origins through later legal and mystical interpretations.
סימנא מילתא היא
Straightening a Sukkah Wall on Yom Tov
Sources address whether physically straightening an inward-bowed sukkah wall on Yom Tov constitutes prohibited construction or permissible restoration of an existing partition. The halakhic analysis considers the distinction between building anew and maintaining a functional enclosure, as well as the structural requirements for valid sukkah walls.
צריך שיקשרנה בחוזק שתהיה יכולה לעמוד ברוח המצויה
Sukkah Validity on Moving Vehicles
Sources address whether a sukkah constructed on a wagon, boat, or other moving platform fulfills the holiday requirement. The halakhic discussion centers on stability standards, the concept of fixed dwelling, and the structural specifications that determine validity.
אם יכולה לעמוד ברוח מצויה דיבשה כשרה
Nullification and Sale of Chametz
These sources examine the legal mechanisms for removing chametz before Passover, focusing on whether mental nullification and selling chametz to a non-Jew are valid Torah and Rabbinic obligations, and how these practices interact with the prohibitions against possessing and benefiting from leavened products.
שיבטלו בלבו ויחשוב אותו כעפר
Chinuch and Hanukkah Candle Lighting
These sources address the halakhic status of children who have reached the age of chinuch (religious instruction) regarding their obligation to light Hanukkah candles, and clarify whether such children must fulfill this mitzvah individually or whether their participation is optional.
קטן שהגיע לחינוך צריך לה
The Shofar Blast Pattern on Rosh Hashanah
Sources explore the biblical and rabbinic foundations for the specific sequence of shofar sounds—tekiah, shevarim, and teruah—sounded on Rosh Hashanah, including the theological purposes of the blasts and the halakhic requirements for their proper execution and order.
זִכְרוֹן תְּרוּעָה מִקְרָא־קֹֽדֶשׁ