Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman – The Jewish Connection

Name the first talking animated film. The answer most people usually offer is Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willy (1928). In actuality, however, the first talking cartoons were produced by…

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A Land of Milk and Honey

A land flowing with milk and honey–Eretz zavat chalav u’dvash--is one of the most famous descriptions of the Promised Land. While the rabbis expound that the milk is only that which flows…

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“No More Pharaohs and No More Slaves”

By the mid-1800s, Jews were settled throughout the United States, and many had absorbed the local culture in which they were living. Among the Jews of the south, there were, therefore,…

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Separation of Church and State

Recently @JewishTweets mentioned, in passing, a website created specifically to give cheers or jeers to those who would or would not say “Merry Christmas.” Many of the jeers were given to…

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Sacrifice and Innocence

Inherent in traditional Jewish thought is a longing for the Holy Temple. Many Jews long for the days when columns of smoke rose from the flames of the altar as devout worshipers brought…

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Aishet Chayil and Esther

On Friday nights it is customary to sing a selection of verses from the final chapter of the Book of Proverbs (31:10-31) known as Aishet Chayil, A Woman of Valor. At this time of year…

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Joy to the Bride and Groom

Have you ever been to a traditional Jewish wedding? At traditional weddings there are, of course, the normal, wonderful things that may be found at all weddings: the beautiful bride and…

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Rashi and The Tosafot Commentaries

One of the most fascinating aspects of Jewish study are the layer upon layer of enlightening and edifying commentaries that can be found when studying texts of the Torah or the Talmud. Of…

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Chanukah and Divine Order

Chanukah always overlaps with at least one Shabbat (if not two), and since Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days, the holiday always coincides with the…

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Justice and Ambassador

On August 8, 1908, Rebecca and Joseph Goldberg were blessed with their eighth child, whom they named Arthur. As the youngest in the family, Arthur was the only Goldberg who was not forced…

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