A Famous Family of Translators
In the early Middle Ages, the global Jewish community was basically divided between those living in lands controlled by the church and those in lands controlled by the Arabs. The dominant…
An Encyclopedic Work
When Rabbi Yaakov Culi arrived in Constantinople, Turkey, in 1714, he did not expect to find a Jewish community lacking Jewish knowledge. While the city was home to some of the great…
The First World War and the Jews
A great deal has been written about the devastation that resulted from the First World War, which left millions dead, thousands maimed and a generation devastated. For those who have…
The Month of Av
The months of the Jewish year are called in the Torah by number only (the first month, second month, etc.) Over time, during the exile, the months assumed the names given to them by host…
The Sabbath of Remembering
This Shabbat is Shabbat Parashat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembering.The Torah portion that is read as the Maftir (additional) portion, after the conclusion of the regular…
Catch-22
In honor of National Novel Writing Month: Joseph Heller is best known for his novel Catch-22, a satiric work whose title has become an idiom referring to a situation in which one cannot…
Jews in the Philippines
When they think about the Philippines, most people do not think of Jews. However, a Jewish presence has been documented in the Philippines from as far back as the 1500s. The 16th century…
Homestead Bride
The Homestead Act of 1862, which was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, opened up a huge swath of the western United States to settlement. In order to claim…
Martin Buber
I and Thou (Ich und Du), the best known philosophical work of Martin Buber (February 8, 1878 - June 13, 1965), was published in 1923. I and Thou presents Buber’s philosophy of dialogue,…
Sabbath of Remembering
This Shabbat is Shabbat Parashat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembering. The Torah portion that is read as the Maftir (additional) portion after the conclusion of the regular…