Jewish Treats

All About Abaye

Students of the Talmud, who wrestle with legal arguments and explore Jewish legends and traditions, are also introduced to a myriad of rabbinic personalities, each of whom brings his own…

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Jewish Treats

Midnight

A day is divided into 24 equal units of time (hours). Different cultures, however, define the beginning (and end) of a day differently. For instance, while a day on the Gregorian calendar…

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Jewish Treats

Tales of The Phoenix

Mythological creatures are generally shrugged off today as figments of overactive imaginations. Nevertheless, a fair number of these fantasy creatures are noted by the sages of the…

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Jewish Treats

Rewarded

At the time that God appointed Aaron to be the High Priest and instructed that his sons and all the generations that were to be born to them henceforth were to be priests, Aaron had only…

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Jewish Treats

Unicorns

Young girls often wish for fairies, and brash youth dream of dragons. There is a delightful allure to the legends of fantastical creatures. But, according to the Midrash, not all such…

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Jewish Treats

Come My Beloved

The Talmud (Shabbat 116a) describes how the sages would greet Shabbat: “Rabbi Chaninah would wrap himself in his cloak and say: ‘Come, let us go and greet the Shabbat Queen.’ Rabbi…

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Jewish Treats

What You Know

Astronomy plays an important role in Jewish life because it is the means by which we calculate the months and, therefore, the holidays--based on the cycles of the moon. Astrology…

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Jewish Treats

Zebulun, Son of Jacob

Throughout her life, Leah suffered from the terrible insecurity of knowing that her husband loved her sister Rachel more than he loved her. Each time she bore a child, the statement she…

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Jewish Treats

Knock, Knock, Who’s There

It is basic courtesy to knock on a closed door and wait to be admitted by those inside. Did you know that this simple matter of etiquette was discussed by the sages and has far greater…

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Jewish Treats

Tales of The Phoenix

Mythological creatures are generally shrugged off today as figments of overactive imaginations. Nevertheless, a fair number of these fantasy creatures are noted by the sages of the…

Read More