Justice and Ambassador
On August 8, 1908, Rebecca and Joseph Goldberg were blessed with their eighth child, whom they named Arthur. As the youngest in the family, Arthur was the only Goldberg who was not forced…
Chanukah and Divine Order
Chanukah always overlaps with at least one Shabbat (if not two), and since Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days, the holiday always coincides with the…
Guard and Remember
The observance of Shabbat is the fourth of the Ten Commandments, listed in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. One would expect to find no difference in the wording of the Ten Commandments…
Belarus, China, Jerusalem and Brooklyn: The Odyssey of the World’s Largest Yeshiva
For 125 years, from 1814 until 1939, the Mir Yeshiva served as a beacon of elite Torah study on the European continent. Situated in the small town of Mir in Belarus, the yeshiva was…
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…
Gummi Worms, Gelatin and Jews
Today is Gummi Worm Day, celebrating the popular sweet and sour candy, which was created by the German confectionary company, Trolli. Gummy Bears were created in 1922 by another German…
Moses’ Mysterious and Mortal Maternity
Moses is arguably the central and most important figure in the Hebrew Bible. Maimonides advances that of the 55 Jewish prophets, Moses’ type of prophecy was quite different and far more…
Iraq and the Jews
Much of ancient and modern Jewish history has passed through Iraq. It can be argued that civilization, as we know it today, actually began in Iraq. The mighty metropolis of Babel or…
Albania and the Jews
Albania, which today marks its Independence Day, is a small Balkan country with an almost minute Jewish population. While it was never a country with a large Jewish population, there have…
Students, Teachers, Honor and More
Across the country, students are preparing for the end of the year. Young children happily count the days until there are “no more teachers, no more books,” while older students take to…