You Say it’s Your Birthday
January, March, June or November (or any of the other months not listed). Nope, that’s not the birthday about which we are writing. Jewish Treats wants to know: Do you know your Hebrew…
No Holiday as Joyous
Tu b’Av (The Fifteenth of Av), which is today, is no longer the well-known holiday on the Jewish calendar that it was in ancient times. In fact, the Talmud states that: “There were no…
The Sukkot Hoshanot Service
Walk into a traditional synagogue in the middle of morning services during the week of Sukkot and you might have to take care not to be trampled upon by the circle of attendees marching…
Rosh Hashana 5784-2023
“Actions and their Implications” (updated and revised from Rosh Hashana 5766-2005) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The celebration of the Jewish New Year is entirely unlike the secular New…
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…
These Lights We Kindle
While the mitzvah of lighting the menorah is an outward-focused mitzvah – the menorah is lit in a window or doorway – it is also an opportunity for personal reflection on the deeper…
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…
Chanukah Yum
While Jewish holidays are known for their food (except Yom Kippur, of course), most of them are not known for being particularly healthy. Chanukah is no exception. Forget matzah or…
Tetzaveh 5784-2024
“A Flame in Every Jewish Heart" (updated and revised from Tetzaveh 5765-2005) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, focuses primarily on the design and…