Jewish Treats

Philosophical Dialogue

Spain in the early Middle Ages was a breeding ground for philosophers. As the peninsula shifted from Christian control to Muslim and back to Christian again, philosophy became the common…

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Jewish Treats

A Famous Family of Translators

In the early Middle Ages, the global Jewish community was basically divided between those living in lands controlled by the church and those in lands controlled by the Arabs. The dominant…

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Jewish Treats

Using A Live Virus

Mention the polio vaccine and most people think of Jonas Salk. The fact is, however, that the polio vaccine used today is actually based on the work of another Jewish physician, Albert…

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Jewish Treats

Publishing A Solution

While Theodor Herzl is generally credited as the father of modern Zionism, he was not the first to call for the modern, political rebirth of a Jewish nation. Only in 1895 did Herzl come…

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Jewish Treats

Work of Love

“Shemayah said: Love work; scorn public office [positions of prominence] and seek not undue intimacy with the authorities” (Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers 1:10). When conjuring up…

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Jewish Treats

Sweet

"There is always room for sweet things." Although this quote comes straight from the Talmud (Megillah 7b), it is a common sentiment among many cultures. In the lifetime of Abaye, the sage…

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Jewish Treats

One! Two! Three! Feel The Burn!

Some people love to exercise, others hate it, but everyone knows that it is a vital component of properly maintaining one’s physical health.    While the Torah does not…

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Jewish Treats

Believe Completely

Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam) was a 12th century Jewish philosopher, codifier, commentator and physician. He is best known for his codification of Jewish law (Mishneh…

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Jewish Treats

Fleeing In The New World

The history of the conversos, those Spanish and Portuguese Jews who hid their identities by publicly behaving as observant Catholics, is tragic not only for the horrible auto-de-fes (mass…

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Jewish Treats

Jewish Penicillin

There is an unusual statement in the Talmud (Berachot 44b) about the therapeutic value of particular foods: “Six things provide a permanent cure for illness: cabbage, beets, an extract of…

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