The Jews of the New Mexico Territory
On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state of the United States of America. The majority of the state’s territory was acquired by the United States from Mexico in the late…
Shemot 5781-2021
“The Not-So-Obvious Process of Hebrew Enslavement” (revised and updated from parashat Shemot 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemot, we…
The Challenge of a Cup of Tea
How do you make a cup of tea? Seems like a silly question, doesn’t it? Tea is easy. Simply take a mug, fill it with hot water, and then just add a tea bag. Let the tea steep and remove…
On One Foot
Jewish Treats was asked to summarize the Jewish faith in one tweet. For those unfamiliar with the Twitter format, that means in 280 characters or less. It seems, at first glance, a…
The Tenth of Tevet, Asarah b’Tevet
And it was in the ninth year of [King Zeddekiah’s] reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth (day) of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, came, he and all his legions, upon…
President William Howard Taft – Friend of the Jews
Jewish Treats presents a quick look at the relationship of President William Howard Taft (1857 – 1930) and the Jewish people. Taft’s presidency (1909 – 1913) overlapped the era of massive…
Vayigash 5781-2020
“Joseph Helps His Brothers Repent” (updated and revised from Vayigash 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Maimonides writes, at the beginning of the second chapter of the Laws of…
Chanukah and Divine Order
Chanukah always overlaps with at least one Shabbat (if not two), and since Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days, the holiday always coincides with the…
Mikeitz 5781-2020
“A Dysfunctional Family Becomes Functional” (updated and revised from Mikeitz 5762-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Mikeitz, the soap opera, (just…
A Chanukah Heroine
Who is Yehudit (Judith), the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, who saved her city, Bethulia, from destruction at the hands of the Syrian-Greek general Holofernes? As the Jews in the…