People of the (Printed) Book
Johannes Gutenberg, credited as the developer of the printing press, published the Gutenberg Bible in 1445. The printing technology transformed the way people learned. International…
Educating American Girls
When Vichna Kaplan (1913 - 1986) arrived in America in 1937, her experiences confirmed the country’s reputation as a place where Jewish tradition was in danger. This was particularly true…
The History Around Purim
The story of Purim takes place at the very end of the era known in Jewish history as the Babylonian Exile. Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem and…
Changing Ukraine
Kiev, Odessa, Zhitomyr, Uman...the cities of Ukraine are places marked in Jewish history for both horror and hope. Jews have lived in Ukraine for well-over a thousand years, and there is…
Inventor Edwin Land
In honor of National Inventor’s Day, Jewish Treats presents a brief biography of Jewish inventor Edwin Herbert Land (1909 - 1991). Although Land is best known for his Polaroid camera, he…
The Marquess of Reading
There have been few Jews included among the peerage of the United Kingdom, and only one who was awarded the title of Marquess. Sir Rufus Daniel Isaacs, the Marquess of Reading, was born…
Pictures Worth Countless Words
Dawid Szymin, better known by his nickname Chim (or by his Americanized name David Seymour), was born in Warsaw on November 20, 1911. His father, Benjamin, was a publisher of many of the…
Yente the Yiddish Writer
Yiddish literature entered its modern era in the 1860s, when Jewish writers began using the Germanic Jewish language to compose stories and poems. Many of the early writers of this era…
Homestead Bride
The Homestead Act of 1862, which was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, opened up a huge swath of the western United States to settlement. In order to claim…
The Queen of Beauty
Helena Rubinstein was 23 years old when she emigrated to Coleraine, Victoria, Australia. Born in Cracow in December 1870, Rubinstein was the eldest of eight daughters. She was educated in…