In the popular musical “Fiddler on the Roof”, the central character Tevye ponders the question of why we do the things we do: “That, I can tell you in one word... Tradition."

“…we have traditions for everything... how to eat, how to sleep, even how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered and always wear a little prayer shawl... This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, ‘how did this tradition start’? I'll tell you … ‘I don't know’. But it's a tradition! Because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do."

Even in contemporary society, tradition governs much of the way we live our lives. At Christmas, for example, tradition dictates the way our families celebrate the holiday - what foods we prepare, how we decorate the tree, when the presents are opened, etc. It doesn’t stop there. Countless things in our daily lives are ruled by tradition – from how we mow our lawns to when we do our laundry; from when and where we take our vacations to who sits where at the dinner table...