The Beauty of the Book
Illuminated manuscripts inlaid with gold or silver leaf and spectacularly illustrated are most often associated with the Medieval church (the Gospels, Psalters, etc), where texts were…
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…
Twice To The Grave?
What happens when a final resting place isn’t so final? In our modern era of perpetual development and expanding cities, it is not unheard of for there to be requests to relocate entire…
The Challenge of Fitting In
The weekly Torah reading of Mikeitz (Genesis 41:1-44:17), which almost always coincides with Chanukah, tells the story of the rise of Joseph the son of Jacob from slave to…
At The Mercy Of British Kings
Most people recognize Richard the Lionheart and his brother John from the saga of Robin Hood. In these overly-romanticized tales, Richard is the hero king fighting in the Crusades, while…
Algerian Purims
Previously, Jewish Treats has presented the history of “Minor Purims,” days on which particular communities commemorate being saved from tragedy. (See Purim of…
I Am To My Beloved
The Torah verse that epitomizes the emotion of love is: “Anee l’dodi v’dodi lee” - I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me (Song of Songs 6:3). The ideal love relationship according…
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…
Mourning Jerusalem: A Brief History of the First Temple
On Tuesday, Jews all over the world will observe the fast of Tisha b’Av.It is on this day that the Jewish people mourn the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. The First…
Heroine of the Old City
When the official U.N. Partition Plan went into effect in May 1948, the 1,700 residents of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City were cut off from the rest of Jewish Jerusalem. Their…