A Brief History of the Jews of Georgia
Located between Russia and Turkey, at the intersection of Europe and Asia, Georgia was, until the mid-1800s, a place of relatively little anti-Semitism. According to tradition, Jews first…
The Spiritual Harvest of the Ant
Are you familiar with Aesop’s Fable of “The Ant and the Grasshopper”? It’s a morality tale about hard work and planning ahead, and it might just have you picturing the original version of…
Chag Ha’matzot
The name of the holiday “Passover,” is an allusion to God’s passing over the Israelite households during the plague of the firstborn, a critical element in the events of the Exodus. The…
The Thing About Nails
If you are a fan of manicures, you might be surprised that Jewish law has a thing or two to say about nail care. For instance, traditional Jewish thought discourages cutting one’s…
Cooking to America
Lizzie Black Kander, who passed away on July 24, 1940, has been a household name for generations via the simple cookbook she created. The Settlement Cook Book (full title: The Way to a…
Mother of Charities
Reading the biography of Frances Wisebart Jacobs leaves little doubt that she well-deserved the title of “Denver’s Mother of Charities.” Over the three decades that she lived in Denver,…
Chag Ha’matzot
The name of the holiday “Passover,” is an allusion to God’s passing over the Israelite households during the plague of the firstborn, a critical element in the events of the Exodus. The…
The First Neighborhood
Until the end of the 19th century, the barren hills outside of the 16th century walls of Jerusalem’s Old City were the territory of marauders and wild animals. Inside the walls,…
Protecting Widows
June 23rd is the official date recognized by the United Nations as International Widows Day. The day was first observed in 2005, and, in 2010, it was ratified by the U.N. to address “the…
Chag Ha’matzot
The name of the holiday “Passover,” is an allusion to God’s passing over the Israelite households during the plague of the firstborn, a critical element in the events of the Exodus. The…