On the Canadian Prairie
Thirty-three years old at the time of his immigration, Grodno-born Rabbi Israel Isaac Kahanovitch was called to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1906, after spending a year in Scranton,…
Keeping Those Hands Clean
Hand-washing is currently a hot topic due to COVID-19. Since Jewish law emphasizes cleanliness and promotes guarding one's health, Judaism has always been ahead of the game when it comes…
Jerusalem Day–Yom Yerushalayim
In 1947, when the United Nations approved the plan to partition the British Mandate of Palestine (Israel) into a Jewish state and an Arab state, they determined that Jerusalem would be an…
Legal to Take?
With all the discussion during the last few years, about the legalization of marijuana, one might have wondered what is the traditional Jewish perspective regarding its use. It is, not…
The Sabbath of Remembering
This Shabbat is Shabbat Parashat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembering. The Torah portion that is read as the Maftir (additional) portion, after the conclusion of the regular…
Jews and the Crimea
In 2014, the Russian army seized control of the Crimea. This occurred after Russia claimed a referendum of Crimean citizens, many of whom are Russian nationals, overwhelmingly favored…
Eden in the Garden State
The first residents of the current state of New Jersey were Dutchmen from New Amsterdam (New York) who settled Jersey City in 1614. Some historians claim that in 1655, some Jews from New…
Are There Limitations to Window Shopping?
As today is known as “Black Friday,” the biggest shopping day of the year, Jewish Treats will discuss a halachic (Jewish legal) issue regarding shopping. Window shopping is an accepted…
“Prohibition” and the Jews
Today is “Repeal Day,” referring to the repeal of “Prohibition”, the infamous 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 18th Amendment went into effect nation-wide on January…
The Story of Lenny Kravitz
On March 6, 1951, a platoon of American soldiers serving in the Korean War came under heavy fire by the Chinese Army near Yangpyong, Korea. When the platoon’s Machine Gunner was wounded,…