Don’t Be A Boor
Self-improvement trends come and go, but their continuing popularity underscores people’s general desire to better themselves. It is natural to want to be both liked and respected,…
Rabbi Dr. Joachim Prinz
Can you name the speaker who preceded Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington? It was Rabbi (Dr.) Joachim Prinz, a German Jew who had been…
New Years Resolutions
Today, Jewish Treats looks at the Jewish nature of some of the most common New Year's Resolutions: 1. Lose Weight/Start Exercising/Eat Healthy Food: The mitzvah of saving a life……
A Woman’s Strength
Born in 1859 in Vienna, Bertha Pappenheim was acutely aware of the advantages given to boys. She wished that she could receive the same education that her younger brother received.…
Rachel’s Curse
Reward and punishment are complicated concepts. Suffice it to say that Divine intervention in the world is often through seemingly mundane acts. For instance, the Torah describes the…
More Than Just Trees
Thousands of blue boxes and a dream that encompassed a nation...that was the foundation of the Jewish National Fund (JNF or Keren Kayemet L'Israel). Today, JNF is best known for its…
Nimrod
The great military villains have usually been brilliant, determined and, it is often suggested, megalomanic. In which case they are very much the spiritual descendants of Nimrod. Nimrod,…
Will I Forgive You for What!?
An ancient Jewish proverb declares: “Loose tongues are worse than wicked hands.” Truth is, people do the most damage to each other with their mouths. Things done with our hands, such as…
More Than Just Trees
Thousands of blue boxes and a dream that encompassed a nation...that was the foundation of the Jewish National Fund (JNF or Keren Kayemet L'Israel). Today, JNF is best known for its…
Shabbat Prayers: Lecha Dodi
Written by the 16th century kabbalist Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz, Lecha Dodi is one of the best known songs of the Friday night service. There are nine full stanzas that create an image…