Jewish Treats

Great Scots

The story of the great masses of Eastern European Jews who arrived in New York and settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is more than simply conventional history. It is now regarded…

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Weekly Message,Tazria,Metzorah

Tazria-Metzorah 5781-2021

“Circumcision and Shabbat” (updated and revised from Tazria-Metzorah 5764-2004) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In order to properly coordinate the weekly Torah readings with the Hebrew…

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Jewish Treats

Cooked Wine

Among the discussions of the many details of Jewish life recorded in the Mishna, the first written compilation of the oral law, is the following: “If a Jewish laborer is hired by a…

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Jewish Treats

The Month of Av

The months of the Jewish year are called in the Torah by number only (the first month, second month, etc.). Over time, during the exile, the months assumed the names given to them by host…

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Jewish Treats

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 that the Jewish people mourn the destruction of both the First and…

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Jewish Treats

The Jews Of Jamaica

As in many countries of the New World, the Jewish history of Jamaica begins with conversos, the secret Jews who fled Spain. They came to the New World seeking not only new opportunities,…

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Jewish Treats

Midwestern Sour Cream

There are a host of Jewish foods that are associated with the American Jewish experience. Most of these, such as blintzes with sour cream, sour cream and bananas, and (of course)…

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Jewish Treats

Connecting the Words

Jewish Treats looks at a renowned Jewish dictionary that has served scholars and students since the turn of the 20th century. A Dictionary of Targumim, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi and…

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Jewish Treats

Jabotinsky

When Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky was born on October 18, 1880, in Odessa, it was probably inconceivable that he would become a staunch advocate for the resettlement of the Jewish…

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Jewish Treats

The First Rabbi in America

The first ordained rabbi to serve in an American congregation was Rabbi Abraham Joseph Rice (originally Reiss, 1800-1862). After studying in Germany, in Wurzburg and then Fuerth, Rice was…

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