Virginia is for Lovers… of Israel

While cities like Charleston, Philadelphia and New York contained Jewish communities during the pre-revolutionary period, Virginia, the largest of the colonies, did not. Individual Jews…

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Fronting the Frontiersman

One of the iconic figures of the American frontier was Daniel Boone, a frontiersman often pictured with a racoon-skin hat. A fact many do not know about Daniel Boone is that some of his…

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Virginia is for Lovers…of Israel

While cities like Charleston, Philadelphia and New York contained Jewish communities during the pre-revolutionary period, Virginia, the largest of the colonies, did not. Individual Jews…

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America’s First Synagogue

In 1656, Shearith Israel, the first synagogue was established in the territory that came to be known as the United States. The synagogue, also known as the Spanish and Portuguese…

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The 10th Cow

Parashat Chukat opens with the very cryptic and inexplicable law of the Red Heifer. This completely unblemished red calf, with no more than two non-red hairs, and that had never been…

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A Constitutional Congregation

What does the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania have to do with the oldest synagogue in that state? Congregation Mikveh Israel (Originally Kaal Kadosh Mickve Israel) was founded in the 1740s…

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On Account of the President’s Feet

How did President Abraham Lincoln’s foot problems affect both the Civil War and the Jewish population of the United States? In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, Jewish Treats…

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America’s First Synagogue

In 1656, Shearith Israel, became the first synagogue that was established in the territory that came to be known as the United States. The synagogue, also known as the Spanish and…

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