Jewish Treats

Jewish Work in Diabetes

Today is World Diabetes Day. Not so long ago, diabetes was often thought of as a “Jewish disease.” This was before doctors and scientists understood genetics. The idea of diabetes as a…

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Jewish Treats

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…

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Jewish Treats

Albania and the Jews

Albania, which today marks its Independence Day, is a small Balkan country with an almost minute Jewish population. While it was never a country with a large Jewish population, there have…

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Jewish Treats

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…

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Jewish Treats

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…

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Jewish Treats

Blessed Is He Who Makes Strange Creatures

An individual might not think that Jewish Treats would have much to say about “Peculiar People Day,” as January 10th has been dubbed by those who create new holidays. However, the sages…

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Jewish Treats

Hardened Hearts of a Leader

Upon the death of North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il twelve years ago, the press rehashed what was known about the repressive regime, certainly causing many to wonder how any leader could cause…

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Jewish Treats

Honoring King

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated today. “The Hebrew prophets belong to all people because their concepts of justice and equality have become ideals for all races and…

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Jewish Treats

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which is famous for its month-long resistance struggle against the powerful Germans in April/May of 1943, actually began with an initial uprising on January…

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Celebrating with a Parade

Name a Jewish celebration, that is not a wedding, but includes a chuppah, music and dancing. The answer is a Hachnassat Sefer Torah, literally “Welcoming the Torah Scroll,” the ceremony…

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