Who Lights The Shabbat Candles?

While lighting Shabbat candles is generally considered a “woman’s mitzvah,” and is traditionally performed by the woman of the house, it is actually an obligation of the entire household.…

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Rabbi Shmuel Salant

On the 29th of Av, 1909, corresponding to August 16th, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, Jerusalem’s long-time Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, passed away. Rabbi Shmuel was born in 1816 in Bialystok, then part…

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The Great Hoshana

Rosh Hashana is known as the Day of Judgment (Yom Hadin), the day on which God judges every person. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the day on which God finalizes His verdict on the…

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Ezer K’Negdo

Today’s Treat begins with a short, sweet story about the great Tzaddik of Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Levine, and his wife, Hannah. One day, Mrs. Levine hurt her foot and needed to see a…

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A Man of Courage Honored

In 2001, it was recognized that in the course of American history, numerous heroes had been denied consideration for the United States Medal of Honor for extreme valor in battle, due to…

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The Three Mitzvot of Sarah

Jokes about dominant Jewish mothers are abundant and frequent. Perhaps this is because, historically, Jewish mothers have been responsible for building the foundation for passionate…

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On One Foot

Jewish Treats was asked to summarize the Jewish faith in one tweet. For those unfamiliar with the “X”/Twitter format, that means in 280 characters or less, which seems, at first glance, a…

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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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Under Cover of Darkness

Of the ten plagues that devastated the land of Egypt, the plague of darkness appears to be the most benign. Certainly, being trapped in the dark is frightening (sensory deprivation is a…

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