For the Refugees
Oftentimes, one thinks of refugees as people who were forced from their homes. Most refugees, however, are not specifically expelled, but rather forced to flee due to increasingly…
A Bit About Fiddler
On November 3, 1971, the film version of Fiddler on the Roof was released in theaters across the U.S. The wide distribution of the movie allowed the musical, which had already touched the…
The Second President
Yitzchak Ben-Zvi, the second President of the State of Israel, was born on November 24, 1884 in Poltava, Ukraine. After participating in the Jewish self-defense units organized…
The Beauty of the Book
Illuminated manuscripts inlaid with gold or silver leaf and spectacularly illustrated are most often associated with the Medieval church (the Gospels, Psalters, etc), where texts were…
Hail to Brotherhood
In the earliest days of humankind, a man named Cain asked God the now famous question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). Cain’s question was meant to be a distraction from the…
An Organizer of Women
The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on March 25, 1911, in which 146 workers died, was a major turning point in labor organization in the United States. The terrible tragedy…
The Beauty of the Book
Illuminated manuscripts inlaid with gold or silver leaf and spectacularly illustrated are most often associated with the Medieval church (the Gospels, Psalters, etc), where texts were…
Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews
This year’s Presidents Day Treat presents a brief overview of the positive interactions of the 26th president and the Jewish people. The record of President Theodore Roosevelt’s…
So Where Are You From?
When reading about Judaism, one often comes across the terms “Ashkenazim” and “Sephardim.” While these names are ethnic subdivisions of the Jewish world, they are actually based on…
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…