America’s First Synagogue
In 1656, Shearith Israel, the first synagogue was established in the territory that came to be known as the United States. The synagogue, also known as the Spanish and Portuguese…
Jews in the Land of Lincoln
The first known Jewish resident of what is now the state of Illinois was John Hays, a grandson of a New York Jew, who moved west to Cahokia in 1793. Hays was a farmer and trader, who, in…
Berlin’s Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary
On May 11, 1820, a child was born in Prussia who would, as a grown man, almost single-handedly change the face of German Jewry. Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer attended yeshiva in Hanover, and…
Celebrating Bar Ilan University
Would you believe that the founding of Israel’s second largest university (33,000 students) was conceived “deep in the heart of Dixie”? Two years after Israel’s founding in 1948, the…
Jews in Early Minnesota
It is often surprising to realize just how recent it was that the majority of the United States was wild, unsettled territory. Minnesota, which became the 32nd state on May 11, 1858, was…
How the Hechsher? Is it Kosher?
In addition to enabling the mass production of dry goods, clothing and automobiles, the industrial revolution allowed for the commercial production and distribution of prepared foods.…
Bnei Brak: A Unique City
In Israel, there are any number of towns that identify themselves as primarily religious. There are none, however, that are as distinct or well-known for being as intensely religious as…
Sand, Sun and Jewish History
In 1917, Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas (as well as the smaller surrounding islands) were transferred from the dominion of Denmark to the possession of the United States. As…
A Publisher of Books
A businessman, a Zionist, a refugee and a publisher, Salman Schocken lived a life driven by his passion for words. Born in Posen, Germany, on October 29, 1877, Schocken was the second son…
A National Poet
Chaim Nachman Bialik (born January 9, 1873) was an Israeli national icon who came to be recognized as one of Israel’s greatest national poets. Born in the Russian town of Radi, he was…