Tetzaveh 5780-2020
“The True Story of Purim” (updated and revised from Tetzaveh 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week’s parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, speaks of the fashioning of the…
Purim Story 2.0: the First Jewish Defense Outside of Israel
The Scriptural story how Queen Esther saved the Jews of the Persian Empire is one of the greatest and most exciting stories ever told. Jews worldwide celebrate the festival of Purim…
Moving Plans
It is not uncommon to picture the era of the rabbis of the Talmud as a world in which the vast majority of Jews still lived in all Jewish environments. In reality, however, the sages…
The Jews of Crete and the Purim of Candia
The Jewish presence on the Island of Crete is rather ancient, with records of a Jewish community in Crete going as far back as the early Roman Empire. Living under the rule of the…
Chanukah Decor, Part Three
Jewish Treats and NJOP present a series of design ideas that will help you create an inspirational Chanukah motif in your own home.
Operation Magic Carpet
A decade ago, the Wall Street Journal reported on the involvement of the United States’ government in a mission that brought approximately 100 Yemenite Jews to America, a little…
The Crown of Israel’s Jezreel Valley
Today the city of Afula, with a population of 49,000, sits as the crown and virtual capital of the Jezreel Valley in north-central Israel. Many identify modern day Afula with the…
Rav Kook
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was appointed as the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine in 1921. A few years later, he founded the World Central Yeshiva, now known as Merkaz…
Lions and Jerusalem Day
The original city of Jerusalem, conquered by King David from the Jebusites, is now known as Ir David, situated in the Silwan neighborhood, south of the Temple Mount. Over time, Jerusalem…
Iraq and the Jews
Much of ancient and modern Jewish history has passed through Iraq. It can be argued that civilization, as we know it today, actually began in Iraq. The mighty metropolis of Babel or…