The Iron Curtain
On March 5, 1946, barely one year after the end of World War II, recently-defeated British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, delivered a speech entitled, “Sinews of Peace” at…
“Kafkaesque”
Franz Kafka was born into a Jewish family on July 3, 1883 near the Old Town Square in Prague, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz was the eldest of six children (two tragically died in…
A Math Teacher’s Life
If Irving (Isaac) Adler had not lived during the fervent era of the rise and decline of Communism, his personal story might have been the simple life of a mathematician dedicated to the…
The Jewish Connection to the March of Dimes
On January 3, 1938, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was officially incorporated. The organization, which was run by Basil…
He Gave Us Curious George
Today, September 16th, is the birth date of the father of the famed children’s book series Curious George. Hans Augusto Reyersbach, better known as H.A. Rey, was born on this day in 1898…
The Power of Positive – An Anniversary Treat
“Pop psychologists” often like to discuss the power of perspective by referring to the glass half empty versus the glass half full. Alas, it is a common human trait to look for the…
A Truly Jewish Hospital
It happened during the Holocaust that Rabbi Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam was shot in the arm by the Nazis. Afraid to go to the Nazi infirmary, which he felt meant certain death, Rabbi…
Tragedy Overcome
Originally based in the town of Bobowa in Southern Poland, the Bobover chassidim were almost completely annihilated by the Nazis. Rabbi Ben Tzion Halberstam, the second Bobover Rebbe, and…
What A Pretty Little
Appearances can be deceiving. Take little children, for instance. “What a pretty little girl” might be a misplaced compliment in many traditional communities where it is customary to…
Her Name Was Sarai
The Midrash states that Sarai (later called Sarah), the mother of the Jewish people, was known in her youth as Yiska (Jessica), because all who saw her wished to gaze at her beauty. But…