Labor, Technology and the Torah
Labor celebrations have taken place throughout North America since the 1880s, and in 1894, Labor Day became an official U.S. holiday. As students of history are well aware, in the decades…
Kiss and Make Up
Today, August 25th, is the anonymously anointed “Kiss and Make Up Day.” These modern “holidays” have little historic meaning, but Jewish Treats would be remiss in not noting that the…
Mission: Impossible
If you were to search the famous “Hollywood Walk of Fame” in Los Angeles for a star with the name “Solomon Krakovsky,” you would be on a mission impossible. Solomon Krakovsky, who…
Before Bagels On Broadway
There is no doubt that New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside of the State of Israel, with a population well over one million. But, who was New York’s first Jew? That…
Rabbi Shmuel Salant
On the 29th of Av, 1909, corresponding to August 16th, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, Jerusalem’s long-time Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, passed away. Rabbi Shmuel was born in 1816 in Bialystok, then part…
Kindness to Animals
Animals are among the most important “educational tools” that God provided to humanity in order to teach them to be “givers.” While animals can’t communicate with the same ability as…
Sir Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) had an extraordinary impact on the world. Beginning a career in general business, Montefiore quickly gained one of the 12 brokers' licenses that were set…
Barbie’s Jewish Mother
In honor of the arrival of the long awaited Barbie movie this Friday, today's Jewish Treats offers a short profile on Barbie's Jewish creator Ruth Handler. One might easily wonder what…
Matot-Masei 5783-2023
"The Mitzvah of Living in the Land of Israel” (updated and revised from Matot-Masei 5764-2004) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Masei, the second of this week’s double…
A Tale of Texas
In 1968, the State of Texas decided to honor the deeds of Jacob Raphael De Cordova (June 6, 1808 – January 28, 1868) by reinterring De Cordova and his wife from their original burial…