Finally Buried
On the 4th of Adar 1307, the Maharam of Rothenberg was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Worms–fourteen years after his death. The rabbi’s remains were released from the fortress of…
Putting Chanukah In Perspective
The events of Chanukah took place about 150 years after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE), whose death brought 40 years of civil war to his empire. Eventually, the empire was…
A Western Frontier
The pleasant temperatures of the short spring and summer of the fertile plains of the Canadian Midwest are a stark contrast to the winter, when temperatures can plummet to -40 degrees…
A Question of Theft
Most cases of theft are black and white but not all. For instance, is it a problem to use a neighbor’s wireless router (bandwidth) without permission? Questions of contested ownership…
Algerian Purims
Previously, Jewish Treats has presented the history of “Minor Purims,” days on which particular communities commemorate being saved from tragedy. (See Purim of Florence and Purim of The…
Putting Chanukah In Perspective
Tonight we will light the final Chanukah candles. Let us take just a few more moments to make Chanukah real in our minds by placing it in its historical context: The events of Chanukah…
Putting Chanukah in Perspective
Last night we lit the final Chanukah candles, and today is the last day of the holiday. Let us now take just a few more moments to make Chanukah real in our minds. We’ve talked about the…
Finally Buried
On the 4th of Adar 1307, the Maharam of Rothenburg was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Worms–fourteen years after his death. The rabbi’s remains were released from the fortress of…
Telephone, Gramaphone, Helicopter…Emile Berliner
Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 – August 3, 1929) came to America to avoid being drafted as a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War. A native of Hanover, Germany, Berliner had trained as a…
Grandmaster R
When Samuel Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski, 1911-1992) was five years old, his father showed him how to play chess. Three years later, the boy was a recognized child prodigy who gained…