Jewish Treats

End of Year Gift Exchange

There is a great deal of gift-giving going on at this time of year. Beyond friends and family, many feel obligated to give end of the year gifts to local specialists (such as one’s hair…

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Jewish Treats

Chanukah Yum

While Jewish holidays are known for their food (except Yom Kippur, of course), most of these foods are not known for being particularly healthy. Chanukah is no exception. Forget matzah or…

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Jewish Treats

The Harm of Gluttony

For most people, exploring the delightful flavors of the many foods of the world is one of life’s simple but great pleasures. As long as one gives thanks for the food and makes certain…

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Jewish Treats

The Tree That Cannot Remain

Judaism has many laws pertaining to the treatment of trees, particularly fruit trees. One law specifically prohibits the destruction of fruit trees. There is, however, one type of tree…

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Jewish Treats

Symbolic Foods

Since Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgment, it is customary to eat simanim,* foods with symbolic meanings that invoke God's blessing. We also recite a short prayer before eating them.…

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Jewish Treats

A Jar of Manna

While the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, there were few things more miraculous than the manna, the food from heaven that fell like dew so that each morning, except for Shabbat,…

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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

Blessed Nut

The blessing over tree nuts is the same as that over fruits (Ha'etz).

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Jewish Treats

Kitniyot and Gebrachts

Ashkenazi or Sephardi? Hungarian, Yekke (German), Lithuanian?At no other time on the Jewish calendar is it so important to know your ancestry as it is on Passover. What one does or does…

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Jewish Treats

Haman’s History

According to the narrative in the Book of Esther, Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people appears to have been instigated by the fact that Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman. Talk…

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