Perhaps I Was Wrong
The third book of the Torah, Vayikra/Leviticus, focusses on the sacrificial rites that were an integral part of Jewish life until the destruction of the Holy Temples. For many Jews of…
Learning Kindness
Today is marked on the calendar as World Kindness Day, a fact that Jewish Treats celebrates annually because kindness, known in Hebrew as chesed, is one of the foundations of Jewish…
So Where Are You From?
When reading about Judaism, one often comes across the terms “Ashkenazim” and “Sephardim.” While these names are ethnic subdivisions of the Jewish world, they are actually based on…
The Power of Shabbat
Jewish life ebbs and flows around the celebration of Shabbat. The days of the week are labelled by a count toward Shabbat (Sunday is Yom Rishon, the first day; Monday is Yom Shaynee, the…
Green Cheesecake at Midnight
The holiday of Shavuot has three well-known, and well-loved, customs: Decorating our homes and synagogues with plants and flowers: According to the Midrash, at the time of the giving…
Avoid The Court of Sodom
Every once in a while, there are outlandish news reports that make people shake their heads, sigh, and wonder what the world is coming to. Preposterous stories such as a homeowner being…
Moses’ Sons
The inherent desire to have one’s legacy last into the future is, most likely, the root of the laws of primogeniture (the special inheritance of the firstborn son). And while the laws…
In The Wilderness
The Torah was given to the Jewish nation in the midst of the wilderness on a tiny mountain called Sinai. Throughout the Torah, however, there is much focus on the “Promised Land” and the…
Green Cheesecake at Midnight?
The holiday of Shavuot has three well-known, and well-loved, customs:Decorating our homes and synagogues with plants and flowers: According to the Midrash, at the time of the giving…
On One Foot
Recently, Jewish Treats was asked to explain the Jewish faith in one tweet. For those unfamiliar with the Twitter format, that means in 140 characters or less. It seems, at first…