Rabbi Joseph Breuer (1882 – 1980) was 57 years old when he and his family arrived in New York City from Europe. It was 1939, and the grandson of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch immediately set about rebuilding the German Jewish community in New York City.

The Pharaoh of the Exodus was a cold-hearted man whose fear of losing power to the growing minority of the Israelites led him to enslave them.

The concept of “being spiritual” is often assumed to be a fairly recent one, resulting, perhaps, from the enlightenment’s deconstruction of organized religion.  The idea of spirituality – how to create, live and grow in a relationship with t…

There is a little known secret that, hidden in what was once the Russian Pale of Settlement (basically Belarus and Eastern Poland), there is a deep, fresh water lake stocked with the unique fish called gefilte… Just kidding. But it is true that gefil…

“Innocent until proven guilty” is one of the great American judicial principles. That important concept, however, could very well have been composed by someone who had studied a bit of Talmud. In tractate Shabbat, 97a, Reish Lakish is quoted as saying:…

The proliferation of buildings and organizations that bear the name Maimonides, the patrinom of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (also known as the RaMBaM), attests to the incredible impact this one man had on Jewish life. Without a doubt, Maimonides was a man of rare genius who excelled as a scholar, community rabbi, doctor and philosopher.

Unlike many of the great philanthropists recorded in history, Judah Touro (1775-1854) was neither the scion of old money nor a man famed for his incredible business talents. His philanthropic activities were so important to him that his tombstone was inscribed: “The last of his name, he inscribed it in the Book of Philanthropy to be remembered forever.”

Today, Jewish Treats looks at the Jewish nature of some of the most common New Year’s Resolutions.

Recently, Jewish Treats was asked to explain the Jewish faith in one tweet. For those unfamiliar with the Twitter format, that means in 140 characters or less. It seems, at first glance, a daunting task.

As the forefathers of the 12 tribes, the lives and personalities of each of the sons of Jacob impacted upon the history and behavior of the tribe that was to descend from them.