The History of Tzimmes

Tzimmes (sometimes tsimmes) is a slow-cooked root vegetable stew with fruit, schmaltz and often meat. Bestselling author Michael Wex calls it a cousin to cholent. For Ashkenazi Jews from the shtetl days of the Middle Ages up to the 21st century, it’s most closely associated with Rosh Hashanah. The sweetness from the fruit (and sometimes […]

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Who Are the Bukharan Jews?

At the far edges of the Jewish world, Bukharan Jews (also sometimes referred to as Bukharian or Bokharan Jews) have made their homes in Central Asia’s vibrant cities — now located in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — for well over a millenia. One of the world’s oldest diaspora groups, they came to resemble the Muslim Tajiks […]

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Sukkah 31

The last time we looked in on Rav Nahman (Sukkah 10) he was hosting colleagues in a sukkah that, according to their view, was not a legal sukkah. On today’s daf, we find him in another awkward situation: There was a certain old woman who came before Rav Nahman. She said to him: The exilarch and all the sages […]

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Long-term effects of COVID could lead to Alzheimer’s- new findings

New research found a link between COVID-19 and lasting cognitive deficits, including the acceleration of Alzheimer’s disease, the Alzheimer’s Association said in a press release. The findings, which were announced at the 2021 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, held virtually and in Denver, reveal that some COVID-19 patients experience short- and/or long-term neuropsychiatric symptoms, including loss of […]

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Sukkah 29

The mishnah that kicks off today’s conversation contains a helpful concession to the human need for creature comfort: All seven days of Sukkot, a person renders his sukkah his permanent residence and his house his temporary residence. If rain fell, at what point is he permitted to vacate the sukkah? When the congealed dish will spoil. There is […]

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Back Pocket Blessings

When was the last time you felt #blessed to attend a Zoom meeting? For me, the answer is almost always “Just a few days ago!” That’s because once a month, I join the virtual gathering of a local broad-based coalition of faith institutions here in Mississippi. It’s always inspiring – and recently reminded me of […]

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