Mother Rachel
The patriarch Jacob had four wives (all at the same time): Leah and Rachel and their handmaidens Bilha and Zilpah. Rachel, however, was the wife that Jacob truly loved. But while Rachel…
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…
At The Mercy Of British Kings
Most people recognize Richard the Lionheart and his brother John from the saga of Robin Hood. In these overly-romanticized tales, Richard is the hero king fighting in the Crusades, while…
The First Rabbi In America
The first ordained rabbi to serve in an American congregation was Rabbi Abraham Joseph Rice (originally Reiss, 1802-1862). After studying in Germany, in Wurtzburg and then Fuerth, Rice…
A Page A Day
The 7th of Cheshvan (today) is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the Lubliner Rav, who passed away in 1933. Although he died at age 46, he had by then changed the face of European…
Algerian Purims
Previously, Jewish Treats has presented the history of “Minor Purims,” days on which particular communities commemorate being saved from tragedy. (See Purim of…
Algerian Purims
Previously, Jewish Treats has presented the history of “Minor Purims,” days on which particular communities commemorate being saved from tragedy. (See Purim of Florence and Purim of The…
Mother Rachel
The patriarch Jacob had four wives (all at the same time): Leah and Rachel and their handmaidens Bilha and Zilpah. Rachel, however, was the wife that Jacob truly loved. But while Rachel…
Zodiac
Horoscopes are fun to read, especially when they tell you that you are about to get rich or find sudden fame. While telling the future through one’s horoscope is not part of Judaism, this…
Sigd, The Ethiopian Holiday
While most of the Jews of Ethiopia--the Beta Israel, as the Ethiopian community is properly called--have made aliyah and rejoined the global Jewish community, they have their own unique…