Guide to Talmudic Terms
Tonight, tens of thousands of Jews will celebrate completing their study of the Talmud. Some of the celebrants are full-time Torah scholars, others are dentists, mechanics and…
The Power of Propaganda
In the last decade, there has been a noted increase in anti-Semitism, especially in Europe. But, attacks against the Jewish people are hardly new. Even the authors of the…
God’s Secret Things
In a little over a week, Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, will be celebrated. While New Year’s celebrations are nice (the Jewish calendar actually has four of them!), Rosh Hashana’s…
Tziporah and Elisheva
“Behind every great man...” So who were the women who gave their support to Moses and Aaron, the leaders of the Jewish people? Tziporah, Moses’ wife, was one of the seven daughters of…
Judah Touro
Unlike many of the great philanthropists recorded in history, Judah Touro (1775-1854) was neither the scion of old money nor a man famed for his incredible business talents. His…
The Missing Ark
Mention the Ark of the Covenant and most people think of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the 1981 movie starring Harrison Ford. The real Ark of the Covenant, created concurrently with the other…
The Power of Propaganda
In recent weeks, several celebrities have achieved notoriety for making anti-Semitic slurs. Their slurs were far from original and, thank God, far from potent. Indeed, such attacks…
Paying For Gold
The most infamous sin of the Jewish people was the sin of the Golden Calf: When God presented the People of Israel with the Ten Commandments, the people were overwhelmed at hearing the…
The Tragedy of the Idol
Ever since Moses saw the Israelites dancing around the Golden Calf and smashed the two tablets of the law, the 17th of Tammuz has been an inauspicious day for the Jewish people, a day on…
Shakespeare’s Jew
From 1290 until the 1650s, Jews were not permitted to settle in England. However, marranos/anusim--Jews from Spain and Portugal who had converted to Christianity in name only in order to…