Jewish Treats

Biur – Burning

The night before the Passover seder, the home is thoroughly searched for any remaining chametz. The chametz found is then set aside to be burned in the morning. Biur Chametz, the…

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Jewish Treats

Dipping Plagues

On the night of the seder, and whenever one recounts the story of the Exodus, the recitation of the 10 plagues presents a particularly dramatic moment. It is interesting to note that the…

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Jewish Treats

Searching for Chametz

On Passover, Jews are commanded to get rid of all "chametz" (leaven) which may be in their possession. To confirm the effectiveness of these efforts, a special search for chametz,…

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Jewish Treats

Seek the Answer

The Four Questions (Mah Nishtana - What makes it different?) is one of the most famous features of the Passover Seder. In Ashkenazi homes, these four lines are recited by the…

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Jewish Treats

A Chanukah Heroine

Have you ever heard of Yehudit (Judith), the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, who saved her city, Bethulia, from destruction at the hands of the Syrian-Greek general Holofernes? As…

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Jewish Treats

The Challenge of Fitting In

The weekly Torah reading of Mikeitz (Genesis 41:1-44:17), which almost always coincides with Chanukah, tells the story of the rise of Joseph, the son of Jacob, from slave to…

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Jewish Treats

The Stolen Child

From the perspective of Jewish history, the story of Edgardo Levi Mortara was a minor event in a long history of Christian persecution. Nevertheless, it had an important impact on world…

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Jewish Treats

Beauty and the Greeks

What does Noah’s son Yephet have to do with the story of Chanukah and the mitzvah of circumcision? When the Syrian-Greeks sought to force Hellenization on the Judeans, one of the first…

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Jewish Treats

Forgiven Love – A Parable

The last parasha (weekly Torah reading) of the Book of Exodus focuses almost exclusively on the conclusion of the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Already though, a fair number of…

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Jewish Treats

Giving Gifts

"One who is diligent in lighting Chanukah candles will have children who are scholars" (Talmud Shabbat 23b). The desire for scholarly children was actually one of the…

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