Operation Magic Carpet
A decade ago, the Wall Street Journal reported on the involvement of the United States’ government in a mission that brought approximately 100 Yemenite Jews to America, a little…
Rabbi Shmuel Salant
On the 29th of Av, 1909, corresponding to August 16th, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, Jerusalem’s long-time Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, passed away. Rabbi Shmuel was born in 1816 in Bialystok, then…
The Jews Of Cyprus
The history of the Jews in Cyprus is surprisingly "benign" given the island’s proximity to both Europe and the Holy Land. The third largest island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus was home to…
Love in the Liturgy
Most people would identify prayer as a vertical endeavor: Mortals communicating with God. Yet, as we will learn, there is a beautiful custom to begin our prayers by thinking horizontally,…
May His Name Be Erased
“Purim Holiday/Purim Holiday/A big holiday for the JewsMasks and noisemakers/Songs and Dance/Let’s make noise rash rash rash.”(Classic Hebrew Purim Song - Chag Purim) Although…
Yom Kippur Katan
Today is one of a number of days on the Jewish calendar that is noted as “Yom Kippur Katan,” literally Little Day of Atonement. It is observed on the day before Rosh Chodesh (the new…
The Jews of Cyprus
The history of the Jews in Cyprus is surprisingly "benign" given the island’s proximity to both Europe and the Holy Land. The third largest island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus was home to…
Wearing White for Shabbat
It is a well-known custom that Jews wear white on Yom Kippur in order to reflect the purity of angels on that holy day. It is a lesser known custom that Jews wear white at the Passover…
Cohen, Katz, Kagen
Meet a man named Cohen and it is fair to assume that he is a descendant of the priestly tribe, going all the way back to Aharon the High Priest. We all know that there are distinctly…
Kiss the Mezuzah
One might easily think of the mitzvah of mezuzah as a passive mitzvah. One simply affixes it to the doorposts of one’s house while reciting a blessing, and it is done. While affixing a…