Knock on wood

Q: Where does the custom of "knocking on wood” come from?

A: The most commonly held explanation for knocking on wood comes from the crucifixion.  The ‘wood’ either refers to people taking relics of wood from the cross as an amulet or as a representation of the figure Jesus.

Historically, the custom of touching or knocking on wood may actually predate this era but in any wise the superstition is frowned upon in Judaism.

Not Counting on You

Q: Why do we not count Jews?  I see people often number them at services by saying, "Not one, not two, not three..."

A: It is an ancient custom that we refrain from counting our fellow Jews.   A reason cited for not numbering people is found in the books of Exodus and Second Samuel.  In both instances, the census was connected with a plague.  Other times, people were counted for purposes of creating an army for war.

Some people recite the prayer over bread (ha-motsie) when counting the assemblage (because the prayer contains ten words) to determine if there are ten Jews.  Instead of counting for a minyan or census, some count yarmulkes, or coats or even glasses.  The article is considered a substitute for the person. Another custom, as you note, is two count by saying, "not one, not two etc."

There is also the sense that many hold that the idea of not counting people will foil the Angel of Death.  In this way he will not know how many Jews there are and not feel tempted to do his job even more efficiently.

What's in a Title?

Q:  Who is a Rabbi, a Rebbe, Reb and Rav?

A:A rabbi is an ordained minister of the “Mosaic persuasion” who may serve a congregation, teach in a communal setting, or simply have the title and work in another entirely unrelated field.  They come from an accredited and respected institution of learning.

A rebbe refers to a hasidic leader.  They are also a rabbi but there is only one rebbe per each Hasidic sect, such as the Satmerer Rebbe, or the Munkacher Rebbe, Skvar Rebbe or Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Reb is a ttile, which conveys the same meaning as mister.  The title of reb is not determined by one’s education or position.

When his word is the final seal or arbiter of halacha (Jewish law) he is called a rav.  Rav denotes a wide acceptance of leadership and interpretation of texts and interpretation of halacha.  A rav is always a rabbi.

Yom HaShoah

Q: Why do we celebrate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day?

A: Not so long ago we remembered the victims of Nazism on Tisha B’Av, not on a separate day.  Tisha B’Av commemorates the saddest events of Jewish history: the destructions of two Temples, the exile of our people, the desert wanderings, and the Spanish expulsion….

Since Tisha B’Av recalls so many tragedies throughout the ages, it was felt that the holocaust should be folded into its observances of weeping and fasting.

The immensity of the Holocaust coupled with the proximity to our lives threatened to turn Tisha B’Av solely into a day of mourning for the Six Million.  In addition, the enormity of the evil was so profound that the people felt it needed a day of its own to mourn and remember.

It was agreed that Yom HaShoah should be positioned during the counting of the Omer, a sober time for all Jews.  During those weeks following Passover we do not perform weddings.  The ill-fated Bar Kochba rebellion was squashed during this period and a plague attacked scholars under Rabbi Akiva.  In keeping with the solemnity of those weeks, Yom HaShoah was given its own place after Pesach.

Tzitzit

Q: Are we obligated to wear tzitzit throughout the day?  I see some Jews who have them dangling from beneath their shirts all day.

A: The biblical mitzvah for wearing tzitzit to be attached to the “corners of your garments.”  Modes of dress have radically changed throughout the centuries, certainly since the time of the Patriarchs.  Generally, people no longer wear four-cornered clothes.  Hence the obligation of wearing tzitzit all day long does not apply.

In its place Jews wrap themselves in a tallit each day in order to fulfill the mitzvah.

If one were to wear clothes that had four corners the law (halacha) was demand that we attach tzitzit to them.  There are many Jews who, eagerly wanting to fulfill God’s mitzvot, will put on a four cornered undershirt with tzitzit attached to them to both mete out God’s word as well as be reminded of God throughout the day.  This undergarment is called a tallit katan, literally a small tallit.

Around the World

Marranos, also called crypto-Jews, held their services in their basements to avoid detection from the Church.  Kabbalists ventured out into the fields as dusk on Friday evenings.  Samaritans burnt animals on an altar, worshipping in biblical style.

For mainstream Jews synagogue architecture and decorum differs from place to place.  From Singapore to Hackensack sanctuaries are distinct.  Some have stained glass; others have marble floors and frescoed walls.  Torahs are positioned on wooded handles as in our synagogue, while Sephardic Torahs are encased in an adorned wooden case.  In Muslim countries they have woven rugs on the floor while on the islands they have sand.  Traveling through the Jewish world is like viewing a panoramic sweep of diverse cultures.

Despite the wide variety all synagogues contain the same five basic elements:

1.   A Torah to read and learn from.

2.   An Aron HaKodesh in which to keep the holy scroll(s).

3.   A shulchan or reader’s desk, from which the prayer leader acts as the focus for the community’s prayers and where the Torah is read.

4.   They face Israel.  In the west sanctuaries face east; in the east the face west; in Haifa it is oriented toward Jerusalem while in Beersheba they face north.

5.   Al synagogue must have windows.  Our tradition demands that we not pray in a sealed environment, apart from the outer world.