Never Again
Recent inflammatory statements and acts of antisemitism remind us of the words found in the Passover Haggadah: "In each generation there are those who rise to destroy Jews." It behooves…
A Poet and A Martyr
Hannah Senesh (Szenes) was born in Budapest, Hungary, to an assimilated, middle-class Jewish family. An avid diarist from the age of 13 until her death, Hannah maintained a personal…
Rabin Shot
It has been 27 years since Yitzchak Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995. Born in Jerusalem on March 1, 1922, Rabin grew up in Tel Aviv. He entered the military service in 1941 when…
The Jews of Panama
The history of the Jews in Panama is similar to Jewish history in other South and Central American countries. Conversos (Jews who publicly recanted the Jewish faith and adopted…
The First Inquisition
Although it was not the first inquisition, the Spanish Inquisition* was unique from its very inception on November 1, 1478, because it was controlled by a monarch rather than the church.…
Lech Lecha 5783-2022
“The Two Birds of Israel” (updated and revised from Lech Lecha 5763-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parsha, parashat Lech Lecha, Avram (his name had not yet been…
National Hermit Day
Judaism is not known for encouraging asceticism (abstinence from mortal pleasure). While the Torah commands the Jewish people to “afflict” themselves on Yom Kippur by fasting and…
The Jews of Amsterdam
October 27, 1275 is noted as the first time the name “Amsterdam” was recorded as the name of a settlement in the Netherlands, near a dam on the Amstel River. That small fishing village…
The Seven Mitzvot
Jewish law places great emphasis on the way a Jew must live and the rewards for living according to Jewish law. Laws such as Shabbat and kashrut create a lifestyle in which Jews mingle…
The Yom Kippur War
It would be impossible, in this brief format, to provide a full history of the events that led to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in the fall of 1973. However, in honor of the…