The Disputation of Paris
The month of June in the year 1240 C.E. was not a good time for the Jews of Europe. The trouble began with a Jewish apostate named Nicholas Donin. Wanting, perhaps, to prove his loyalty…
Making it Transfusable
This past Sunday, June 14, was World Blood Day. Today's Jewish Treats takes a brief look at the Jewish researchers who made safe blood transfusions possible. In 1901, Karl Landsteiner…
In Arkansas
Jewish life in Arkansas began in 1825 with the arrival of Abraham Block to the town of Washington in Hempstead County. For Block and his family, however, it was a very lonely Jewish…
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.…
The Jews’ Hospital of New York
Healthcare is a topic that is frequently in the news these days and is a major part of the current public discourse. Before it became standard practice for governments to fund public…
You Say It’s Your Birthday
January, March, June or November (or any of the other months not listed)...Nope, that's not the birthday about which we are writing. Jewish Treats wants to know: Do you know your Hebrew…
Watch Your Language
Once upon a time in American culture, defiant children who uttered certain improper words would have their mouths washed out with soap. Today, the profanities litter the world of common…
The Surgery Is Elective
In the late twentieth century, there was, according to anecdotal evidence, an epidemic of "deviated septum" among American Jewish girls. The implication, along with many not-so-funny…
Who Was a Nazirite?
One of the topics found in Parashat Naso concerns the Nazirite. The Nazirite is a man or woman who vows to avoid the vices of wine and grape products, to avoid any contact with the dead…
Book Respect
Because of the centrality of the Torah in Jewish life, the Jewish people are known as, "The People of the Book." Perhaps the Jewish people could also be known as, "The People of the…