The Crémieux Decree
On October 24, 1870, The French government issued a decree to recognize the Jews of Algeria as French citizens. The law had been written and passed after much campaigning by powerful…
The Question of Tattoos
Where once they were demarcations of sailors, soldiers and convicts, tattoos have become a common form of self-expression in Western society. Tattoos are no longer limited to biceps, but…
Forever Fashions
When the Children of Israel left Egypt, they did not expect to be in the wilderness for 40 years. (Indeed, 38 years were added to their journey because the generation that left Egypt…
Excuse Me, Is It Possible…
“Don’t be chutzpadik” is the modern Hebrew equivalent of the classic American parenting admonition: “Don’t be fresh!” and “Don’t talk back!” The challenges of parenting have always…
Eat and Save
“Eat your peas. There are children starving in Africa.” “No dessert, until you eat all the food on your plate.” “Waste not, want not.” Today, June 5, 2013, is the United Nations…
Simple Measurements
In honor of World Metrology Day, which celebrates the 1875 Metre Convention that established a worldwide uniformity of measurement (with the notable exception of the United States),…
The Book of Ruth
Ruth was the Moabite wife of Machlon, one of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi, a wealthy couple who had fled Bethlehem during a bitter famine. Elimelech's family had settled in Moab, a…
Two Pillars of Five
Jewish law, and thus Jewish life, rests on two pillars, the mitzvot between a person and God and the mitzvot between one person and another. These two pillars of law are laid out in the…
A Very Serious Woman
They called her “Battling Bella,” and Bella Savitsky Abzug (1920-1998) lived up to that nickname. Born in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrants, Bella earned an undergraduate degree…
Who Was Rabbi Akiva?
Akiva ben Yosef was once an ignorant and illiterate shepherd. So poor and downtrodden a figure was Akiva that his extremely wealthy father-in-law disinherited Akiva’s wife, Rachel, for…