Mordecai Manuel Noah
While one of the founding principles of the United States of America is freedom of religion, any historian would agree that in the early days this was often more principle than practice.…
International Friendship Day: Jonathan and David
In honor of today’s International Friendship Day, Jewish Treats presents the friendship of David and Jonathan. The sages state: “What is an example of the love which did not depend upon…
General/Prime Minister Sharon
Ariel “Arik” Sharon served with unusual distinction and considerable controversy both in a military uniform and as a politician. Sharon’s life of accomplishment was punctuated by his…
Memorial to a Brave Soldier
David Rosenkrantz is one of the many unsung heroes whose lives, cut short by the horrors of war, are honored on Memorial Day. Born in 1916, Staff Sergeant Rosenkrantz joined the army in…
Evacuation Day
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln called upon the American people to celebrate a day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. In New York, however, there was already a holiday…
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…
Cartoon Power
The mesmerizing imagery in Syd Hoff’s classic children’s books Danny and the Dinosaur and Sammy the Seal (and Herschel the Hero!) may evoke a bygone era, but the storylines remain…
Isaac, Son of Abraham
Born to aged parents (Sarah was 90, Abraham was 100), Isaac was Abraham’s sole heir. This meant more than inheriting his wealth, it meant becoming the leading advocate of monotheism.…
The Mother of Modern Swimming
In 1920, at age 35, Charlotte Epstein was not a contender for an Olympic medal in Antwerp, but she was, in many ways, the hero of women’s swimming. Born in 1884 in New York City, "Eppy,"…
A Revolutionary in Georgia
Mordecai Sheftall (1737-1797), the son of Benjamin and Perla Sheftall, emigrants from England, was born in Savannah, Georgia. A successful self-made merchant-come-landholder, Mordecai was…