The Nathan Sisters
The Suffragist Movement of the early twentieth century was a political cause about which many people felt strongly, either one way or the other. Maud Nathan and her sister Annie Nathan…
The Friday Night Feast
With candles burning brightly and fine wine for kiddush, Friday night dinner is a meal that is designed for “atmosphere.” However, the actual fare of Shabbat dinner varies, depending on…
Abraham Ibn Ezra
Biblical scholars study his Torah commentaries, poets read his verse, grammarians look to his linguistic work and a lunar crater is named in his honor. Meet Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn…
The Ghetto Of Venice
The Jewish ghetto of Venice, made famous in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice ( “Shylock” ), was actually the very first “ghetto.” That does not mean that when the Venetian…
Her Name Was Emma
The history of the Jews in North America often reflects the "melting pot" character of its citizenry. This was particularly true of the early Sephardic settlers who maintained their…
Kitniyot and Gerbrouchts…Oh You Ashkenazim!
Ashkenazi or Sephardi? Hungarian, Yekke (German), Lithuanian? At no other time on the Jewish calendar is it so important to know your ancestry as it is on Passover. What one does or does…
The Friday Night Feast
With candles burning brightly and fine wine for kiddush, Friday night dinner is a meal that is designed for “atmosphere.” However, the actual fare of Shabbat dinner varies, depending on…
The Jews of Panama
The history of the Jews in Panama is similar to Jewish history in other South and Central American countries. Conversos came to the region with Spanish settlers, but, in time, became…
Passover 5781-2021
“The Final days of Pesach - Days of Unity” (updated and revised from Passover 5761–2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The fact that the ancient Israelites happened to find…
People of the (Printed) Book
Johannes Gutenberg (1400-1468), credited as the developer of the printing press, published the Gutenberg Bible in 1445. The printing technology transformed the way people learned.…