Jewish Treats

If Shabbat Is Saturday, Why Does It Begin On Friday Night?

There Was Evening, And There Was Morning... When following the Gregorian (secular) calendar, it is natural to think of the days of the week as Sunday, Monday....Friday, Saturday, each…

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Jewish Treats

Eclipse

One might expect the sages to record eclipses as moments of awe, but instead the Talmud (Sukkah 29a) ascribes what seems to be a strange meaning to them:“Our Rabbis taught, When the…

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Jewish Treats

Rabbi Ashi

Every generation needs a leader. The Talmud notes that “a righteous man does not depart from the world until [another] righteous man like himself is created, as it is said (Ecclesiastes…

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Jewish Treats

The Light of the First Day

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the…

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Jewish Treats

The Second Commandment

You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or…

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Jewish Treats

The Light of the First Day

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the…

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Jewish Treats

Why Am I Not Interested in Idols?

There is an interesting dialogue between the elders of Rome and the sages of Israel recorded in Talmud Avodah Zarah 55a:  [Rome]: "If [your God] has no desire for idolatry, why does…

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Jewish Treats

Well It’s Been A Long Day

Today is the longest day of the year - the summer solstice. Technically, the summer solstice is an astronomical event that occurs when the sun reaches its most northern point in the sky.…

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Jewish Treats

Who Has Kept Us Alive

The Book of Ecclesiastes frequently repeats the theme of, “There is nothing new under the sun.” For King Solomon, the composer of Ecclesiastes, this focus was intended to inspire people…

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Jewish Treats

Total Eclipse

Last night/early this morning, North Americans were able to view a complete lunar eclipse. While this is not a rare occurrence, it is always a fascinating event. One might expect the…

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