Ice Cream Soda Day

With the summer solstice arriving tomorrow, let us contemplate one of summertime’s favorite heat-quenching beverages. June 20th is Ice Cream Soda Day. The ice cream soda, sometimes called…

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Jewish Matchmaking

“Matchmaker, matchmaker / Look through your book / And make me a perfect match…” (Fiddler on the Roof). With the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eHarmony,…

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Setting the Seder Table

Before beginning the seder this Wednesday night, it is important to make certain that everything necessary is available. No seder table is complete without the following: 1) Three…

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A Kosher Buffet

While it seems a bit counterintuitive to have a day celebrating abundant eating the day after a national holiday, nevertheless, January 2nd is celebrated as “Buffet Day.” The concept of a…

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Holiday Greetings

The standard pre-Rosh Hashana greeting of “K’tiva v’chatima tova” (“May you be written and sealed for good”) is deduced from a Talmudic discussion concerning the three heavenly books that…

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Ice Cream Soda Day

With the summer solstice arriving tomorrow, let us contemplate one of summertime’s favorite heat-quenching beverages. June 20th is Ice Cream Soda Day. The ice cream soda, sometimes called…

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Oh Goodness

“He [Rabbi Akiva] said: … The world is judged with goodness, and everything depends on the abundance of good deeds” (Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers 3:19). God judges the world with…

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Setting the Seder Table

Before beginning the seder, it is important to make certain that everything necessary is available. No seder table is complete without the following: 1) Three Unbroken Matzot (Kosher for…

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The Sabbath of Remembering

This Shabbat is Shabbat Parashat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembering. The Torah portion that is read as the Maftir (additional) portion, after the conclusion of the regular weekly Torah…

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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.…

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