Jewish Treats

Three Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

While Jewish prayer has many aspects that are introspective, prayer is also designed to serve as a vehicle of communication with the Divine. The central focus of every prayer service is…

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Jewish Treats

The Jews of Panama

The history of the Jews in Panama is similar to Jewish history in other South and Central American countries. Conversos (Jews who publicly recanted the Jewish faith and adopted…

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Jewish Treats

The Thanksgiving Synagogue Service

While Thanksgiving is most certainly an American festival of gratitude, its founders prominently articulated its religious underpinnings, which ultimately traces to a source in Judaism.…

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Jewish Treats

Jewish Light Burns Bright

In the face of the unspeakable horror that was perpetrated on October 7th, and innumerable challenges both for the people of Israel and Jews worldwide that resulted, it's time to come…

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Jewish Treats

Rights in Connecticut

At the time that Connecticut ratified the U.S. Constitution on January 9, 1788, the fifth state of the United States was not particularly welcoming to Jews or anyone else who was not…

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Jewish Treats

Tu b’Shevat

While it may seem as if winter has just begun, it may be a good time to invoke a bit of optimism and look beyond the turbulent weather and remember that spring is just around the corner.…

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Jewish Treats

A Jar of Manna

As discussed in this week’s Torah Portion, parashat B’shalach, while the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, there were few things more miraculous than the manna, the food from heaven…

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Jewish Treats

Finally Buried

On the 4th of Adar 1307, corresponding to today’s Hebrew date, the Maharam of Rothenburg was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Worms, fourteen years after his death. The rabbi’s remains…

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Jewish Treats

Who Was Mordechai?

There are some people in this world who always seem to be right in the thick of the action. As described in the Book of Esther, this was Mordechai. It is Mordechai’s cousin, Esther, who…

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Jewish Treats

Purim Again?

Unique to the Jewish calendar, the festival of Purim is actually observed on different days depending on a person’s location. The majority of the Jewish people celebrate Purim on the 14th…

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