Jewish Treats

How Elvis Was Jewish

Do a websearch on “Jewish Elvis,” and you will be astounded at what you find. Born on January 8, 1935, Elvis Aaron Presley was the great-grandson of Martha Tacket, who is reported to have…

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Jewish Treats

Everyone Does The Wave

One of the main mitzvot of the holiday of Sukkot is the waving of the four species: citron (etrog), palm, myrtle and willow. Trying to understand this mitzvah metaphorically, our sages…

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Jewish Treats

Remembering the Akeida

In neither of the two Torah references to the holiday of Rosh Hashana (Leviticus 23:23-25, Numbers 29:1), is there a specific mention of the shofar, the ram's horn. Only…

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Jewish Treats

Who Drinks the Water?

It’s a classic ethical dilemma: Two people are lost in the desert with only one water bottle. There is not enough water for both people to reach civilization. Who gets the water, or do…

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Jewish Treats

Why Vow?

The framework of Jewish life is set by Jewish law. And, while Jewish law covers almost all aspects of life, there is a great deal of latitude for personal choice within Jewish law. That…

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Jewish Treats

From Them I Learned

Our modern media culture likes to “label” successful people: The richest person, the prettiest person, the person of the year, and etc. And because our culture is so influenced by the…

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Jewish Treats

Give Them A Choice

There is an oft-cited Midrash (Sifrei, Dvarim 343) describing how God offered the Torah to the other nations of the world before He gave it to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.…

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Jewish Treats

In the Wilderness

The Torah was given to the Jewish nation in the midst of the wilderness on a tiny mountain called Sinai. Throughout the Torah, however, there is much focus on the “Promised Land” and the…

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Jewish Treats

Chol Hamoed

Most holidays in Western society last for a single day, which is often extended into the weekend. And while most people are aware that Chanukah is celebrated for 8 days, many people are…

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Jewish Treats

More Than Shabbat

Ahad Ha'am (Asher Ginsberg, poet and Zionist ideologue: 1856-1927) is quoted as saying, "More than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews." This statement is part of the key to…

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