Forget The Top Forties
Thousands of years ago, the sages created a top ten song list of the important songs recited in the Tanach (Bible). Straight from the Midrashic collection of the Mechilta of Rabbi Ishmael…
A Midsummer Night’s Shabbat
“Making early Shabbat,” means beginning Shabbat well before sunset. This is an especially important accommodation for residents of cities where the summer sun may not set until 9 or 10 at…
The Burial at Betar
In war, a common means of humiliating the enemy is to refuse them burial of their dead (which is also forbidden by the Geneva Convention). Certainly, demoralization was the goal of the…
Donkey
Why is a donkey called a donkey? For Jewish Treats, a more interesting question is why is a donkey called a chamor? According to the Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 17:4), God assigned Adam the…
Adding Candles
Lighting Shabbat candles is an essential element of Shabbat. The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) states that two candles are used to fulfill the mitzvah in order to recall the dual…
Midnight
A day is divided into 24 equal units of time (hours). Different cultures, however, define the beginning (and end) of a day differently. For instance, while a day on the Gregorian calendar…
Moonbeam
December 21, 1968/30 Kislev 5729 was the day on which the world held its breath as American astronauts set out for the moon. On this day, Apollo 8, with its three member crew, was…
How Does God Rest?
On the first six days of creation, God created (Day 1) the heavens and earth, light as separated from darkness; (Day 2) the firmament to separate the water (Day 3) dry land, a bringing…
The Birthday of the World
According to Jewish tradition, this Saturday, Rosh Hashana, the world will be 5770 years old. This claim easily stirs up sharp debate. How, it is often asked, can one say that the world…
Tu b’Av And The Offering Of Wood
Tu b'Av, the fifteenth of Av, was celebrated in ancient times by unmarried maidens who went out on this day to dance in the vineyards hoping to be chosen by an unmarried youth to be his…