Jewish Treats

Original Vegetarianism: Here’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…

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Jewish Treats

Beating the Willows

During Sukkot, there is a mitzvah to wave the four species (lulav, hadassim, aravot and etrog - palm, myrtle, willow and citron) every day except on Shabbat. In addition to this mitzvah,…

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Jewish Treats

The Second Uprising

History is a study in cause and effect. Today, on the 9th of Av, the Jewish people mourn two additional tragic events that followed the terrible destruction of the Second Temple: the…

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Jewish Treats

Eat and Save

“Eat your peas. There are children starving in Africa.” “No dessert, until you eat all the food on your plate.” “Waste not, want not.” Today, June 5, 2013, is the United Nations…

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Jewish Treats

Shabbat Chazon

This Shabbat is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of the Vision (prophecy), named after the opening word of the Book of Isaiah, the first 27 verses of which are read as…

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Jewish Treats

The Book of Jeremiah

The Book of Jeremiah describes the final 40 years of the Kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah was a reluctant prophet, whose first prophecy came when he was still young, but God said that He would…

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Jewish Treats

The Three Weeks

“When Av enters, we must lessen our rejoicing,” declare the Talmudic sages in Ta’anit 26b. In truth, however, this period of "sadness" begins on the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz ) and lasts…

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Jewish Treats

The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz

Everyone knows about Yom Kippur. There are, however, several other fast days in the Jewish calendar that are not nearly as well known. Tomorrow, on June 25, the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz…

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Jewish Treats

Bows and Arrows

Lag Ba'omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, is a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar. Its observance commemorates the end of a tragic plague that took the lives of nearly all…

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Jewish Treats

The Purim Commitment

What does the holiday of Purim have to do with Jews reconnecting to their Jewish heritage? Purim is more than a celebration of the victory of the Jews over an enemy who wished to…

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