People of the (Printed) Book
Johannes Gutenberg, credited as the developer of the printing press, published the Gutenberg Bible in 1445. The printing technology transformed the way people learned. International…
Courland Jews, an Interesting History
There is no country by the name of Courland, but there is a historical subset of Latvian Jews known as Courland Jews. Their distinction comes from the connection in the 19th century of…
A Taste of Shakespeare
Yiddish theater, which saw its heyday in the early decades of the twentieth century, played an important role in the lives of the American Jewish community. More than just entertainment…
Beauty and the Greeks
What does Noah’s son Yephet have to do with the story of Chanukah and the mitzvah of circumcision? When the Syrian-Greeks sought to force Hellenization on the Judeans, one of the first…
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…
Jabotinsky
When Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky was born on 13 Cheshvan (October 18) 1880, in Odessa, it was probably inconceivable that he would become a staunch advocate for the resettlement of…
The Tale of Tel Aviv
In honor or Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, Jewish Treats presents a very brief history of a very well-known city: Tel Aviv. Known as the first all-Jewish city of modern times,…
Beauty and the Greeks
What does Noah’s son Yephet have to do with the story of Chanukah and the mitzvah of circumcision? When the Syrian-Greeks sought to force Hellenization on the Judeans, one of the first…
A Crime of Stalin
In 1981, PEN International (an organization of poets, essayists and novelists advocating for freedom of expression and human rights) declared November 15 as the Day of the Imprisoned…
An Indian Poet
Nissim Ezekiel was an Indian poet who brought a unique voice to his literary contributions. Born in Bombay, India, on December 24, 1924, he was educated in both India (University of…