Jewish Treats

Who Drinks the Water?

It’s a classic ethical dilemma: Two people are lost in the desert with only one water bottle. There is not enough water for both people to reach civilization. Who gets the water, or do…

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Jewish Treats

Whose First Fruits

When the Oral Law was first codified, most Jews lived in agrarian settings. Today, being less familiar with agrarian culture, some people find it difficult to relate to some of the…

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Jewish Treats

Who Was Rabbi Akiva?

Akiva ben Yosef was once an ignorant and illiterate shepherd. So poor and downtrodden a figure was Akiva that his extremely wealthy father-in-law disinherited Akiva’s wife, Rachel, for…

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Jewish Treats

Who Knows One?

How does one transmit basic theology in a fun manner to tired seder guests? The answer is--with song. Many see this as one of the purposes of the Nirtzah, the final section of the…

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Jewish Treats

Who Was Mordechai?

There are some people in this world who always seem to be right in the thick of the action. As described in the Book of Esther, this was Mordechai. It is Mordechai’s niece who is chosen…

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Jewish Treats

A Maccabees’ Who’s Who

Mattityahu (Mattathias): A High Priest descended from the Hasmonean line, Mattityahu lived in Modi’in with his five sons. Mattityahu started the rebellion against the Syrian-Greeks…

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Jewish Treats

Whose First Fruits

When the Oral Law was first codified, most Jews lived in agrarian settings. Today, being less familiar with agrarian culture, some people find it difficult to relate to some of the…

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Jewish Treats

Who Were Their Mothers?

In honor of yesterday’s Mother’s Day Celebration, Jewish Treats presents a brief introduction to some of the unnamed mothers of well-known Biblical personalities. The mother of King David…

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Jewish Treats

The Whole Megillah

Whether it’s a long-winded tale, or a story overloaded with details--it’s called a “whole megillah!” (In “the old country” they would have said “a gantse megillah!”) So what exactly…

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Jewish Treats

Who Was Achashverosh?

“Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus--this is Ahasuerus who reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces..." (Esther 1:1). While…

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