Category: Science and Health

Since antiquity, the swan has been associated with music; it was believed that swans sang sweetly just before dying — giving rise to the notion of a “swan song.” Far more interesting, though, is the fact that in medieval bestiaries the swan was a symbol of hypocrisy; the brilliant pure white plumage seen as belying […]

People who are deficient in vitamin D are at least 20% more likely to die from COVID-19 than people who are not, according to a new Israeli study. The study was published on the medical sharing site MedRxiv and is being submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Researchers from the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan […]

After a full day of costume changes, ritual immersions, lotteries, sacrifices, blood sprinklings, confessions, mysterious moments in the Holy of Holies, and much more, the high priest’s day comes to an end. The mishnah on yesterday’s daf tells us that the high priest would mark the end of Yom Kippur with a feast for his […]

The Jewish month of Tevet always begins during Hanukkah. But when the first of that month also happens to be Shabbat, it’s a busy day in synagogue.  As Rabbi Titzhak Nappaha says on today’s daf: When the new moon of Tevet occurs on Shabbat, we take out three Torahs: From one, we read the topic of the […]

Juneteenth is an American holiday celebrating the end of slavery. This prayer reflects on the core story of the Jewish people — the Exodus from Egypt — which impels us to fight slavery everywhere. It celebrates the milestone of emancipation of Black American slaves, even as it acknowledges that there is much work still to […]

Imagindairy, an Israeli startup in the field of vegan food products, has produced an alternative milk to the commonly-consumed soy, almond and oat milks based on the same proteins seen in cow’s milk, the company announced on Thursday. Imagindairy was founded last year, and uses the artificial intelligence technique called “precision fermentation,” which involves creating […]

One of the oldest Jewish jokes in the book involves Mr. Cohen and Mr. Goldberg, regular minyan goers (meaning they pray together daily at the synagogue). One morning, as Mr. Cohen is hemming and hawing about going to synagogue, his wife asks: “Why do you even bother going? You don’t even believe in God!” His answer: “Goldberg talks to […]

Many home cooks this past year, in an Insta-inspired spirit, upped their challah-baking game with new braiding patterns, interesting flavors and vibrant colors. Yet it was a more standard ingredient that unwittingly connected many to their roots. If you used Fleischmann’s yeast for your challah, you leavened your dough with the essence of American Jewry. […]

The mishnah on today’s daf points out a challenge with gathering Jews from all over the world on Yom Kippur, with their different expectations and attitudes toward ritual life. Culture clash becomes somewhat inevitable — like this: And they made a ramp for the goat due to the Babylonian Jews who were in Jerusalem, who would pluck […]

As of Tuesday, the Health Ministry canceled the requirement to wear masks indoors. The few exceptions are medical facilities and nursing homes, individuals on their way to their location of quarantine and flight passengers. But while masks are no longer mandatory, are there still situations where it is advisable to wear them? Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, […]