The Purim Story in Under 300 Words
At the end of a 180-day feast, the King of Persia-Medea, Achashverosh, banished (some say executed) his wife, Vashti, for refusing to appear at his banquet. He then staged an elaborate…
Paschal Lamb – A Unique Commandment
While most Jews have attended a Passover seder, no Jew in the last 1,900 plus years has tasted a Paschal lamb ("Korban Pesach"), the animal offering associated with Passover that shares…
Beauty and the Greeks
What does Noah’s son Yephet have to do with the story of Chanukah and the mitzvah of circumcision? When the Syrian-Greeks sought to force Hellenization on the Judeans, one of the first…
Al Hanisim, For The Miracles
Most Jewish holidays are marked not only by feasting and celebrations, but also by special prayers. On Biblical holidays, such as Passover and Rosh Hashana, these special prayers include…
Prayer’s Essence
According to many opinions, the minimum amount of prayer one should recite daily should consist of praise of God, a request of God and a thank you to God. Thus for instance, a mother of…
If There Are But 10…
While the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of the better-known biblical narratives, it is preceded by an interesting dialogue between God and Abraham. God reveals to Abraham…
Seeking God In Elul
Psalm 27 is read twice daily from the beginning of the month of Elul through the holiday of Sukkot in order to help each Jew develop a beautiful relationship with the Divine.“One thing…
Vanity of Vanities
Most people are unknowingly familiar with the beginning of the third chapter of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) because of the 1962 hit song by The Byrds: "To everything - turn, turn,…
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…
Donkey
Why is a donkey called a donkey? For Jewish Treats, a more interesting question is why is a donkey called a chamor? According to the Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 17:4), God…