North Star State’s First Jewish Senator

Rudolph Ely Boschwitz was born on November 7, 1930, in Berlin, Germany to his Jewish parents Lucy (Dawidowicz) and Eli. When he was 3, coinciding with Hitler’s rise to power, the…

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First On The Court

Born in 1856, in Louisville, Kentucky, Louis Dembitz Brandeis was the child of European immigrants who maintained a minimal Jewish identity. However, his maternal uncle, Lewis Dembitz,…

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The First Inquisited

Although it was not the first Inquisition, the Spanish Inquisition* was unique from its very inception on November 1, 1478, because it was controlled by the monarchy rather than the…

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The First American Jewish Poetess

In celebration of National Poetry Month: When asked to name early American Jewish poets, the first name that comes to most people’s mind is Emma Lazarus. It may therefore be surprising…

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The First In The Senate

As U.S. citizens vote in the midterm elections, Jewish Treats introduces David Levy Yulee, the first Jewish man to be elected to the United States Senate. Like his more famous…

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The First Inquisition

Although it was not the first Inquisition, the Spanish Inquisition* was unique from its very inception on November 1, 1478, because it was controlled by the monarchy rather than the…

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The First Rabbi in America

The first ordained rabbi to serve in an American congregation was Rabbi Abraham Joseph Rice (originally Reiss, 1800-1862). After studying in Germany, in Wurzburg and then Fuerth, Rice was…

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The First Inquisition

Although it was not the first inquisition, the Spanish Inquisition* was unique from its very inception on November 1, 1478, because it was controlled by a monarch rather than the church.…

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The First Inquisition

Although it was not the first inquisition, the Spanish Inquisition* was unique from its very inception on November 1, 1478, because it was controlled by a monarch rather than the church.…

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Think First

By virtue of the fact that there is a blessing “Blessed is He who makes strange creatures,” recognize that all human beings have a Tzelem Elokim, an imprint of Godliness within them, so…

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