Jewish Treats

Jonas Phillips: Living in the Revolution

A few weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the BriTisha blockade intercepted a communication from Jonas Phillips to a relative on the Dutch Island of St. Estatius.…

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Jewish Treats

Jonas Phillips: Living in the Revolution

A few weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the BriTisha blockade intercepted a communication from Jonas Phillips to a relative on the Dutch Island of St.…

Read More

Jewish Treats

A Jewess in the Revolution

For a Jew to be a landowner, or the owner of an import and export business, or a tavern-keeper, was a rare feat. For a Jew to be all three and a woman who also raised eight children (a…

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Jewish Treats

Jonas Phillips: Living in the Revolution

A few weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the British blockade intercepted a communication from Jonas Phillips to a relative on the Dutch Island of St. Estatius.…

Read More

Kee Teitzei,Weekly Message

Kee Teitzei 5765-2005

"The Revolution that Started with a Fence" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The extraordinary number of themes that are found in parashat Kee Teizei make it seem as if the Torah, with only…

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Jewish Treats

The Importance of Fences

Transmitting words of wisdom to leaders of future generations, the Men of the Great Assembly advised: “Make a fence for the Torah” (Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers 1:1), which alludes…

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Jewish Treats

A Constitutional Congregation

What does the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania have to do with the oldest synagogue in that state? Congregation Mikveh Israel (Originally Kaal Kadosh Mickve Israel) was founded in the 1740s…

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Jewish Treats

Why Vow?

The framework of Jewish life is set by Jewish law. And, while Jewish law covers almost all aspects of life, there is a great deal of latitude for personal choice within Jewish law. That…

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Weekly Message,Metzorah

Metzora 5771-2011

"We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald On July 4th 1776, the Continental Congress adopted a statement written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, known as the…

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Jewish Treats

The Charleston Synagogue(s)

Charleston, South Carolina is home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the United States. The 1669 charter for the Carolina Colony explicitly included liberty of conscious for…

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