Blue Laws and the Supreme Court

In honor of the first session of the United States Supreme Court (February 2, 1790), Jewish Treats looks at one of the first Jewish issues brought before the Supreme Court Justices: Blue…

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Mother Rachel

The patriarch Jacob had four wives (all at the same time): Leah and Rachel and their handmaidens, Bilha and Zilpah. Rachel, however, was the wife that Jacob truly loved. In this week's…

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Lech Lecha 5783-2022

“The Two Birds of Israel” (updated and revised from Lech Lecha 5763-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parsha, parashat Lech Lecha, Avram (his name had not yet been…

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Haazinu 5783-2022

“The Final Song” (updated and revised from Haazinu 1999-5759) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Haazinu, features the final song which Moses sings before his…

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Mission Impossible

If you were to search the famous “Hollywood Walk of Fame” in Los Angeles, for a star with the name “Solomon Krakovsky,” you would be on a mission impossible. Solomon Krakovsky, who…

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Va’etchanan 5782-2022

“Why the Sh’ma?” (updated and revised from Va’etchanan 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, we encounter, in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, one of…

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Devarim 5782-2022

“The Gentle Reproof” (updated and revised from Devarim 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week, congregations the world over finally align their Torah readings with Israel, and…

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A Woman in Charge: Bessie Gotsfeld

Mizrachi Women’s Organization of America (MWOA, known today as AMIT – Americans for Israel and Torah) began as part of the religious Zionist organization known as Mizrachi of America. The…

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Smashing the Tablets

The sages declare that five tragedies occurred on the Seventeenth of Tammuz, (Sunday, July 17th)* which is why the day is observed as a fast day. Days of what we might now call “bad…

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Bamidbar 5782-2022

“The Role of the Levites, and the Service of Yeshiva Students in the Israeli Army.” (updated and revised from Bamidbar 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week, we begin to…

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