A Poet and A Martyr
Hannah Senesh (Szenes) was born in Budapest, Hungary, to an assimilated, middle-class family. An avid diarist from the age of 13 until her death, Hannah maintained a personal journal…
Rabbi and Statesman, Rabbi Moses Schorr
Rabbi Moses Schorr was a passionate academic who dedicated most of his indefatigable energy to the Jewish people. Born on May 10, 1874, in Pryemysl, Galicia, when it was still part of…
Corrie ten Boom
Today, April 15, is the date of both the birth and death of Cornelia “Corrie” Arnolda Johanna ten Boom (1892-1983), who was honored in 1967 as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations.”…
A Crime of Stalin
In 1981, PEN International (an organization of poets, essayists and novelists advocating for freedom of expression and human rights) declared November 15 as the Day of the Imprisoned…
Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
While Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745 - 1812) did not come from a family of Chassidim, he would become not only a follower of the new movement, but also the founder of what is today…
The Missing Hero
According to a hand written document shared by the Soviet Union in 1957, Raoul Wallenberg died of heart problems in his cell on July 17, 1947. By the time the document was released, both…
Jiri Mordecai
In celebration of National Poetry Month: One could easily say that the life of Jiri Mordecai Langer (1894-1943) was lived between the two World Wars. Born in Prague to an…
Using A Live Virus
Mention the polio vaccine and most people think of Jonas Salk. The fact is, however, that the polio vaccine used today is actually based on the work of another Jewish physician, Albert…
Bankrupt
The concept of forgivable bankruptcy--declaring one’s self legally destitute and thereby being forgiven of one’s major debts, is a recent development in history. Until the mid-1800s (in…
A Poet and A Martyr
Hannah Senesh (Szenes) was born in Budapest, Hungary, to an assimilated, middle-class family. An avid diarist from the age of 13 until her death, Hannah maintained a personal journal that…