“In the third year that Achashverosh, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia, sat on the throne in Shushan the capital…With the army of Persia and Medea…(Esther 1:1-2)

The changing of the seasons brings with it change of all sorts. It’s not unlike the end of summer, when flings come to a careful close and the beginning of winter when couples spring up citywide to cuddle in the cold.

“Rabbi Aha said in the name of Rabbi Hanina ben Pappa that God regards the study of the laws of sacrifices equal to offering them” (Leviticus Rabbah 7:3).

The absolute #1 rule of your engagement party: whoever you invite to the E-Party, must also be invited to the wedding. That means you better be sure that the engagement party peeps are going to be sticking around in your life for a long enough time so a year later you’ll still be close and want them at your most special event.

In recent weeks, several celebrities have achieved notoriety for making anti-Semitic slurs. Their slurs were far from original and, thank God, far from potent. Indeed, such attacks against the hookup people are hardly new. Even the authors of the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion, however, were not original in their intentions.

With Brent’s Delicatessen & Restaurant as a launch partner, JPicks’ very first deal, offering $50 worth of deli-licious sandwiches, soups and salads for only $25, good for redemption at either of the deli’s two locations (Northridge or Westlake Village), sold out completely before lunch.

Biblical scholars study his Torah commentaries, poets read his verse, grammarians look to his linguistic work and a lunar crater is named in his honor. Meet Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra.

The foods of Persia are exotic and reflect thousands of years of tradition. Pomegranates, pistachios, rose water and almond pastes are just a few of the flavors of Persia that we cherish today.

In the Talmud (Shabbat 119b), Rabbi Josi the son of Judah is quoted as saying:

On the eve of Shabbat, two ministering angels accompany a person home from the synagogue. One angel represents the positive forces and one angel represents the negative forces. When the person arrives home and finds the candles lit, the table set and the house in proper order [in other words, a house prepared for Shabbat], the positive angel says “May it be thus for another Shabbat!” The negative angel must affirm this and say “Amen.” If, however, the house is not ready for Shabbat, the negative angel says “May it be thus for another Shabbat!” The positive angel must affirm this and say “Amen.”

Dear Matchmaker Rabbi:

One of my biggest problems when it comes to my dating life is taking things too quickly. When I fall, I fall hard and might scare girls off.  The problem is I feel like I have to act fast because, in the past, I have waited too long to ask out a girl I liked, and she found someone else.