Breslov
In honor of International “Day of Happiness,” which was yesterday, Jewish Treats is pleased to share the oft-quoted words of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov: “To always be happy is a great…
Tazria 5782-2022
“Tzaraat—The Spiritual-Dermatological Disease” (updated and revised from Tazria 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Tazria, as well as parashat…
Oh Goodness
“He [Rabbi Akiva] said: … The world is judged with goodness, and everything depends on the abundance of good deeds” (Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers 3:19). God judges the world with…
Philosophical Exploration
If you enjoy studying philosophy, explore works by Jewish philosophers such as Rav Saadia Gaon and Rabbi Moses ben Maimon. Rav Saadia Gaon took on the Karaites as their movement ran…
Rav Saadia Gaon
Rabbi Saadia ben Joseph, known by the appellation Rav Saadia Gaon (Gaon, meaning light, was the honorific title given to the religious leader of the Jewish community in Babylon) is best…
Preparing for the Torah
Shortly after the Israelites encamped at the base of Mount Sinai, they agreed to accept the Torah and do all that God had commanded. And so, God declared that He would bring Himself, in…
Don’t be Quarrelsome
Aaron, the first High Priest of the Jewish people, was renowned for his efforts to make peace between his fellow Jews (“Be among the disciples of Aaron, love peace and pursue peace…”-…
Goodly Tents
Much of Jewish life is built around community. Jews often live in close proximity to each other, in many instances with a synagogue or synagogues at the center of their neighborhoods. As…
Mourning Jerusalem I: A Brief History of the First Temple
This coming Saturday night and Sunday, Jews the world over will be observing the fast of Tisha b’Av. It is on this day of the Hebrew calendar that the Jewish people mourn the destruction…
A Whispered Line
The Shema is both a prayer and a statement of the most fundamental aspect of Jewish theology: God’s oneness. The words of the first line of the Shema are found in this week’s Torah…