Stories from Safed
The city of Safed in the northern Galilee is one of Israel’s most popular tourist destinations. One of its primary draws is its magnificent synagogues whose congregations date back to the…
Let’s Hear Your Shpiel
Traditional Jewish life is rarely associated with theater or satire, but Purim is a time for turning things on their head. The Spiel (pronounced/also written: shpiel or schpiel), best…
Changing Ukraine
Kiev, Odessa, Zhitomyr, Uman...the cities of Ukraine are places marked in Jewish history for both horror and hope. Jews have lived in Ukraine for well-over a thousand years, and there is…
The Tosafot Commentaries
One of the most fascinating aspects of Jewish study are the layer upon layer of enlightening and edifying commentaries that can be found when studying texts of the Torah or the Talmud. Of…
The Aleppo Codex
The story of the Jewish people is one of wandering, exile and redemption. It is therefore not surprising that many items precious to Jewish life have followed similar paths. An excellent…
The Salty Ghettos
It is a fairly well-known fact (perhaps due to Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice) that Jews in many European cities were forced to reside in ghettos. The first of these areas of restricted…
Coming to California
When we think of California today, we think of perfect weather, beautiful beaches and Hollywood stars. Before these modern dreams, however, California was a land of wild settlers who had…
The Jews of Genoa
In honor of Columbus Day, Jewish Treats presents a brief history of early Jewish life in Columbus’ hometown of Genoa (also called Genova). Although it is generally presumed that Jews…
Working for a Living
It often seems as if people today, especially in Western societies, are defined, and define themselves, by their work or their profession. When people meet for the first time, one of the…
Changing Ukraine
Kiev, Odessa, Zhitomyr, Uman...the cities of Ukraine are places marked in Jewish history for both horror and hope. Jews have lived in Ukraine for well-over a thousand years, and there is…