A Meaningful Act of Kindness
We are all at a loss of how to deal with the tragic unfolding events in Israel. On the one hand, we feel helpless seeing the horrific images from Israel and reading the tragic stories…
Ezer K’Negdo
Today’s Treat begins with a short, sweet story about the great Tzaddik of Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Levine, and his wife, Hannah. One day, Mrs. Levine hurt her foot and needed to see a…
Three Steps Forward, Three Steps Back
While Jewish prayer has many aspects that are introspective, prayer is also designed to serve as a vehicle of communication with the Divine. The central focus of every prayer service is…
Keeping Ethical
Pirkei Avot is commonly translated as "Ethics of Our Fathers" because many of its statements focus on ethical behavior. For those striving to be ethical, “Nittai the Arbelite says: Keep…
Hail the Holy Pomegranate
The pomegranate is a funny sort of fruit. Rather than eating the flesh and throwing away the seed, as one does when eating an apple or orange, pomegranate seeds are the parts that are…
Sigd, The Ethiopian Holiday
While most of the Jews of Ethiopia–the Beta Israel, as the Ethiopian community is properly called, have made aliyah and rejoined the global Jewish community, they have their own unique…
Isaac, Son of Abraham
Born to aged parents (Sarah was 90, Abraham was 100), Isaac was Abraham’s sole heir. This meant more than inheriting his wealth, it meant becoming the leading advocate of monotheism.…
Bostoner
Boston is a famous and historic American city, with a rich early American flavor. So, it might therefore be surprising to learn that Boston is the home of its own unique chassidic sect.…
World Hello Day
In 1973, Brian and Michael McCormack created "World Hello Day" as a reaction to the Yom Kippur War. College students at the time, the McCormack brothers started a campaign encouraging…
Request Wisdom and Guidance
The decision whether to use diplomacy, prayer or action or all three is not an easy one. Consider approaching a rabbi to seek wisdom and request guidance when faced with a particularly…