The Great Sea Monster
In honor of World Ocean Day, we present a Treat about the Great Sea Monster. For most of history, sea monsters were considered among the greatest perils of sea travel. Most probably, the…
Sustenance and Beauty
Cosmetics have been a part of civilization since…well, research cannot pinpoint where or when people started using products to paint their faces or subtly alter their appearances, but its…
A Scholar and a Playwright
As the epicenter of the Renaissance, Italy was filled with great centers of learning and creativity during the middle centuries of the last millennium. In one of these great centers of…
Happy Birthday Birkat Hamazon
The Torah (Exodus 16:1) reports that the Children of Israel arrived at the Wilderness of Sin on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, approximately one month after the exodus from Egypt.…
The Second Passover
On the first anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt, the Children of Israel prepared to celebrate their first Passover as free people. God decreed that they should eat matzah and maror…
Take Me Out To The Ballgame
In 2006, the month of May was officially designated as Jewish American Heritage Month. And what better way to celebrate Jews in America than with a little bit of baseball? Certainly,…
The Family’s Blood
Today is World Hemophilia Day, designated to raise awareness of the hereditary blood disorder that prevents one’s blood from clotting. Most forms of hemophilia are passed from mother to…
Seven Days to the Sea
The Passover celebration lasts seven days in Israel and eight days, outside of Israel. (For more information as to why, please click here). The first day (and second, outside of Israel)…
What’s With The Salt
At every Shabbat meal, the blessing of Ha’mo’tzee (the blessing over bread) is recited over two complete loaves of bread. This "bread" is usually the braided loaves known as challah, but…
Vayakhel-Pekudei 5783-2023
“Celebrating the Month of Nissan” (updated and revised from Vayakhel-Pekudei 5764-2004) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming Shabbat, the final Shabbat of the Hebrew month of…