Original Vegetarianism: Where’s The Beef?
Adam and Eve were vegetarians. When God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, the Torah tells us that God said: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat…” (Genesis 2:16). While God…
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…
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, literally the Night of Crystal, but generally translated as the Night of Broken Glass, was a tragic turning point in the fate of Germany’s Jewish community. The…
The Bird of Thanks
On Thanksgiving Day, it is customary in the United States to eat a turkey dinner. The Hebrew name for turkey is “tar’negol hodu,” literally, an “Indian Rooster.” It came by this name…
On One Foot
Jewish Treats was asked to summarize the Jewish faith in one tweet. For those unfamiliar with the “X”/Twitter format, that means in 280 characters or less, which seems, at first glance, a…
Rachel’s Tomb?
Kever Rochel, the Tomb of Rachel, in Bethlehem is considered to be the third holiest site in Jewish tradition, after the Temple Mount and The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The…
The Story of Chanukah
Around the year 167 B.C.E., the Syrian-Greek rulers of Judea tried to force the Jews to assimilate into Hellenic culture. They summoned the Jews to the town squares where they were forced…
The 25th of Kislev
It is not uncommon to find that significant events in Jewish history occurred in different years, but on the same day on the Jewish calendar. For instance, Tisha b’Av (9th of Av), the day…
Special For Chanukah: The Chanukah Blessings
Tonight, on the first night of Chanukah, one candle/light is placed on the far right of the menorah. Each succeeding night, one candle/light is added to the left of the previous night’s…
Giving Gifts
“A person who is diligent in lighting Chanukah candles will have children who are scholars” (Talmud Shabbat 23b). The desire for scholarly children was actually one of the motivations for…