Dinah, The Daughter of Jacob
Dinah, the seventh and youngest child of Leah and Jacob, was born the same year as her half-brother Joseph. In fact, the Talmud (Brachot 60a) notes that Leah specifically prayed that the…
Presidents’ Day: The Jews and Martin Van Buren
In 1840, the news of the terrible fate of the Jewish community of Damascus (Syria) reached the shores of America and brought the disparate Jewish communities of the young American nation…
Just A Half A Shekel
This Shabbat is Shabbat Shekalim, the Sabbath of Shekels. The Torah portion that speaks of Shekalim (Exodus 30:11-16) is read as the Maftir portion after the regular weekly Torah reading…
The Question of the Van
Philosophically, one might debate whether the mitzvah of helping unload the overburdened donkey of one’s enemy is applicable to a more modern day situation of assisting one’s enemy with a…
Gluckel of Hamelin
Twenty years after Samuel Pepys stopped writing his famous diary of life in London, Gluckel of Hamelin (1646-1724), the widow of a Jewish gem and metal dealer in Hamburg, took up her pen.…
With All Your Heart
Have you ever wondered about the connection between love and the heart? Love is a complex emotion. The heart is the organ in the body that is responsible for blood circulation. The two…
Shabbat Clothes
In historical fiction, there are often references to wearing one’s “Sunday best.” Jews don’t have “Sunday best,” but do have special clothing for Shabbat. Given the status of Shabbat as…
Coveting
“Covet” is a strange word that is rarely used today except to cite the last of the Ten Commandments, “Lo Tachmod, Do not covet” (Exodus 20:14). The desire for things that others have is…
Tu biSh’vat is Coming
While it has been a difficult winter for many of us, it may be time to look beyond the turbulent weather and see that spring is just around the corner. You might wonder how one can…
The Jews of Charles Dickens
As has been frequently reported, anti-Semitism is on the rise. Beyond strengthening our own Jewish identities, what can we do? There are often simple, non-threatening actions that can…