Jewish Treats

Symbolic Foods

Since Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgment, it is customary to eat simanim,* foods with symbolic meanings that invoke God's blessing. We also recite a short prayer before eating them.…

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Jewish Treats

Tashlich

The Rosh Hashana tashlich ceremony is a tradition that is dear throughout the many diverse Jewish communities. Tashlich literally translates as "You will throw." But what, exactly, is……

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Yom Kippur,Weekly Message

Yom Kippur 5780-2019

“How does G-d Judge?” (Updated and revised from Yom Kippur 5760-1999) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   How does one prepare for Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgment, when our deeds of the…

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Jewish Treats

I Am To My Beloved

The Torah verse that epitomizes the emotion of love is: “Anee l’dodi v’dodi lee” - I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me (Song of Songs 6:3). The ideal love relationship…

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Rosh Hashana,Weekly Message

Rosh Hashana 5780-2019

“The Judgment of Ishmael, and its Contemporary Implications for all of G-d's Creatures” (Updated and revised from Rosh Hashana 5761-2000)   Because of Rosh Hashana, instead of…

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Jewish Treats

Potential Energy

Parashat Ki Tavo begins by juxtaposing two important agricultural laws. First (Deuteronomy 26:1-11), the Torah instructs the Israelites to bring bikkurim, the first fruits…

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Jewish Treats

The Maharal of Prague

To the Jewish community and general population at large, the Maharal of Prague is the revered, mystical medieval rabbi who created the Golem to protect the Jews in the Prague…

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Jewish Treats

Locate Your Friend and Ask for Forgiveness

Whether the creation of the wheel, and tools to create and advance civilization, or the discovery of penicillin or the polio vaccine, our lives have changed profoundly because of such…

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Kee Tavo,Weekly Message

Kee Tavo 5779-2019

“Welcoming the Stranger” (Revised and updated from Kee Tavo 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tavo,opens with the ritual of bringing בִּכּוּרִים…

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Jewish Treats

Jews Don’t Run the World?

The Talmud teaches that in order to be credible, every good lie has to have a kernel of truth. This is not so when it comes to the libelous “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a totally…

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