“That’s All Folks…”
Melvin Jerome Blank, known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices,” was born on May 30, 1908, in San Francisco, CA, to Frederick and Eva Blank. While in high school in Portland, OR, Mel changed…
IPO Music
On December 26, 1936, corresponding to the 12th of Tevet, the Palestine Orchestra, founded by Polish-Jewish violinist Bronislaw Huberman, held its initial concert in Tel Aviv. At that…
The Rebbitzen
Esther Jungreis became a rebbitzen when she married Rabbi Meshulum Jungreis in 1955. She became “The Rebbitzen” when she founded Hineni in 1973. Born in Hungary in 1936, Esther and her…
Dancing on Ice
Competing for artistic and athletic mastery on ice has been part of the fun of winter long before the Winter Olympics, and Jews have often taken part in the joy of ice skating. In fact,…
A Great Historian
Author of over 80 different works, the Right Honorable Sir Martin Gilbert is best known in the Jewish world for his numerous volumes on Jewish history. Born in London on October 25, 1936,…
Grandmaster R
When Szmul Rzeszewski (1911-1992) was five years old, his father showed him how to play chess. Three years later, the boy was a recognized child prodigy who gained acclaim giving…
The Fate of Babel
Born on July 13, 1894, in Odessa, Isaac Babel’s life spanned a tumultuous time in Russian history. Raised in a middle class Jewish home, Babel had both a full Jewish education and a…
Jews in Pakistan
In the last decade, the nation of Pakistan has frequently been in the news, all too often connected to reports of violence, bloodshed and war. Pakistan itself is actually a very young…
A Brilliant Mind
In an era when most young women were encouraged to find a proper husband, Rita Levi-Montalcini (a combination of the last names of her father and mother) dreamed of a career in medicine.…
A Day for Musicians
Today, Jewish Treats honors two musicians who were born on January 6: Maurice Abravanel and Menahem Avidom. Maurice Abravanel (1903-1993), who was the descendant of Don Isaac Abravanel…