Jewish Treats

North Star State’s First Jewish Senator

Rudolph Ely Boschwitz was born on November 7, 1930 in Berlin, Germany to his Jewish parents Lucy (Dawidowicz) and Eli. When he was 3, coinciding with Hitler’s rise to power, the Boschwitz…

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Jewish Treats

Sarah’s Whereabouts Determine Jewish Law

Parashat Vayeira begins with Avraham convalescing after his circumcision. Unexpectedly, he sees three “visitors,” whom the Midrash identifies as angels, come toward his home. Excited to…

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Jewish Treats

The Great Jewish Tenor

There was a time, in the first half of the 20th century, when chazanut (cantorial/synagogue music) was the rage in the American Jewish community. In fact, there were celebrity chazanim…

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Jewish Treats

The Jewish League

For American Jews today, it is hard to imagine that Jews in the U.S. in the early twentieth century faced a deeply anti-Semitic culture. Many public and private facilities posted blatant…

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Jewish Treats

Jewish Work in Diabetes

Not so long ago, diabetes was often thought of as a “Jewish disease.”  This was before doctors and scientists understood genetics. The idea of diabetes as a “Jewish disease” also…

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Jewish Treats

Jewish Foundation in Science Fiction

 In 1981, in his introduction to the science fiction anthology More Wandering Stars, Isaac Asimov pondered the question, “Can science fiction be part of Jewish culture?” As this was…

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Jewish Treats

Einstein’s Jewish Life

Albert Einstein, whose yahrzeit is the 26th of Nissan (today), is one of the most admired men in history. His name and his face are almost universally recognized, and his scientific…

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Jewish Treats

A Truly Jewish Hospital

It happened during the Holocaust that Rabbi Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam was shot in the arm by the Nazis. Afraid to go to the Nazi infirmary, which he felt meant certain death, Rabbi…

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Jewish Treats

The Paralympics’ Jewish Roots

The competitive spirit of this year’s Summer Games in London did not end with the Closing Ceremony. From August 29 - September 9, 2012, thousands of athletes with physical disabilities…

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Jewish Treats

The First Jewish Lawyer

The study of law appears to attract a disproportionate number of Jews, perhaps because expounding arguments, pro and con, is one of the great pleasures of Talmudic discourse. In fact, one…

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