Beyond Boils
When the Torah was translated into English, the Hebrew word makkah was translated as plague. In the modern lexicon, however, the term plague often brings to mind the hideous…
A Kosher Buffet
While it seems a bit counterintuitive to have a day celebrating abundant eating the day after a national holiday, nevertheless, January 2nd is celebrated as “Buffet Day.” The concept of a…
Cooking to America
Lizzie Black Kander, who passed away on July 24, 1940, has been a household name for generations via the simple cookbook she created. The Settlement Cook Book (full title: The Way to a…
Go Vote! It’s an American and Jewish Value!
Voting in free and fair elections is one of the most profound privileges Americans and citizens of other democratic countries enjoy. Almost 700,000 American soldiers* have died in wars to…
Freedom Caps
While an internet search can bring up many different statistics about the number of Jews involved in the civil rights movement, it is fair to say that it was a significant percentage when…
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 Ecuador
While Ecuador does not have a large Jewish population, (there are fewer than 400 active members of the community), its history mirrors that of many South American and Central American…
Cohen, Katz, Kagen
Meet a man named Cohen and it is fair to assume that he is a descendant of the priestly tribe, going all the way back to Aharon the High Priest. We all know that there are distinctly…
Judge Fairly
The Sixth Amendment in the United States’ Bill of Rights (requiring a speedy trial, impartial jury, confrontation of witnesses, council, etc) is, perhaps, one of the most difficult to…
Revolutionary Doctors
At the time of the American Revolution, approximately 2,000 Jews resided in the colonies. A fair number of these Jews served in the Continental Army, and many others showed their…