Local Heroes
In honor of International Holocaust Memorial Day, which is observed on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Jewish Treats presents the stories of two survivors who became…
The Jewish League
For American Jews today, it is hard to imagine that Jews in the U.S. in the early twentieth century faced a deeply anti-Semitic culture. Many public and private facilities posted blatant…
The Jews of Panama
The history of the Jews in Panama is similar to Jewish history in other South and Central American countries. Conversos came to the region with Spanish settlers but, in time, became…
Article VI
September 17 is Constitution Day, in honor of the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1787. The Constitution was a radical document at that time, and one of the most unique…
Saying Goodbye to Shabbat
Shabbat ends when three stars appear in the sky, a little more than an hour after candle lighting time. Maariv, the evening service, is recited in the synagogue and, upon returning…
A Day For Sleep?
Among the many festivals assigned to the final days of December and the first days of January, one of the newest and, perhaps, the most logical, is the anonymous designation of January…
The Bnei Menashe of India
It is the belief of the Bnei Menashe of Northeastern India that their legendary forefather Manmasi,* was actually Menashe the son of Joseph and that their communities are the remnants of…
No Cheeseburgers
Why don’t Jews eat meat and milk together? Because the Torah says: “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Lo t'vashail g'di ba'cha'laiv eemo.) To the modern Jew, however,…
Diplomacy, Prayer, Action
As every diplomat knows, there is a time to talk, a time to pray and a time to take action. This very lesson is recorded in the Torah when Jacob encounters his murderous brother Esau…
Chief Rabbi of New York
The position of Chief Rabbi is to be found in almost every major Jewish community except in the United States. Perhaps this is due to America’s separation of church and state, as the…