יום רביעי, י״ב תשרי תשפ״זWednesday, September 23, 2026
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For anyone accustomed to seeing Rashi printed on virtually every page of a modern Chumash, it is difficult to appreciate just how extraordinary these leaves are.
By Mendi Glik
He pointed to a rare piece composed by Yossele Rosenblatt in which there is a duet between the cantor and the poet. In this setting, Rosenblatt creates a literal dialogue between the cantor and the poet in a question-and-answer format.
Mitzmann divides the book into twelve chapters corresponding to the Hebrew months of the year, skillfully weaving together how the spiritual lessons contained within the Jewish holidays helped her radically alter and reestablish her relationship with Hashem and reclaim her mental health.
The early twentieth century was also a period of profound instability for Jews in the Russian Empire, marked by political upheaval, economic uncertainty, and episodes of antisemitic violence, conditions that contributed to large-scale emigration, particularly to North America and Eretz Yisael.
He has insightful comments, very much worth reading, about each of these places from the points of view of a loyal American, frum Jew, and expert on governmental finance.
By Mendi Glik
A maestro must not only be familiar with the nusach and the text of the tefillah, but deeply understand the prayers.
The edition itself is of considerable importance. R. Yosef Karo's Shulchan Aruch had rapidly become the foundational halachic code, while the Rema's Hagahot transformed it into the practical code of Ashkenazic Jewry by recording the customs and rulings of the communities of Europe.
The overall approach was very relatable and lucid, and also very exciting: seven barren women, seven approaches to unlocking and unblocking prayer.
He devotes sustained attention to Rav Kook’s understanding of halacha, especially the claim that the commandments are not uniformly beneficial for every individual and that excessive absorption in halachic detail can diminish spiritual stature.
An early mention of cholent can be traced back to the 13th century, where it is found in the writings of Rabbi Issac ben Moses of Vienna, better known as the Riaz.
Lécache was not born into prominence, nor did he begin life as a professional defender of Jewish rights.
Public lectures in synagogues and community centers frequently emphasized not technical mystical doctrines but the Baal Shem Tov’s accessible teachings about joy, prayer, and the value of every individual.
The cipher itself appears to have been a distinctive feature of the scholarly milieu surrounding the Landau family.
By Mendi Glik
As soon as he began to sing, his grandmother became deeply emotional and burst into tears. Young Blum didn’t understand what was happening.
By Ben Rothke
While the shofar is one of the most familiar sounds in Jewish life, it is perhaps one of the least understood.
By Mendi Glik
Chazzanut used to be the biggest entertainment for Jews, Lemmer explained. Not necessarily only for frum or charedi Jews – for secular Jews as well. It reminded them of their hometowns back in Europe; it was the bridge between the Old World and the New World.
Historically, community leaders and rabbis were appointed locally through an elective process or, quite often, inherited roles. In the Ottoman Empire, however, rabbinic appointments were managed via Istanbul and required the approval of the imperial government.
An intriguing cultural footnote is that some non-Jewish consumers have also sought out these Passover bottles, believing – accurately, as it turns out – that they contain cane sugar rather than corn syrup and therefore have a slightly different taste.
Belkin did not “found” Yeshiva University in the literal sense – the institution’s roots predated his presidency by decades – but he was the architect of its transformation into a university in the modern sense.
By Mendi Glik
It wasn’t until around age 36 that he decided to pursue a professional music career, spurred on by his older children.
May Hashem protect you, and may your heart rejoice, and may the Satan, Heaven forbid, have no dominion over the works of your hands. May the pleasantness of Hashem be upon you, and may He send your help from the Sanctuary.
Rav Moshe took the printed ketubah and drew a large X across it. He did not argue with the relative or attempt to demonstrate that his original version was correct.
By Mendi Glik
When I asked him why there are almost no permanent cantors in synagogues nowadays, he explained that it reflects a broader generational shift. The problem, Motzen says, is that today, people don’t have the patience to sit through a service for a few hours.
When we learn about the mysteries of the world, we see how little we know, and this humbles us and opens our minds to the truth about ourselves and the place we inhabit. There is a Creator of unimaginable wisdom and power.
Dr. Simone Schmidt occupies a morally powerful place in the history of the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust and, although her name is not among the most widely known figures of the resistance, the surviving documentation – much of which is exhibited here – reveals a life of profound courage, quiet conviction, and decisive […]
The impetus for the society’s creation reportedly stemmed from both a desire for camaraderie among Jewish officers and the need to foster religious solidarity and mutual support at a time when Jewish law enforcement personnel were a distinct minority in the department.
By Mendi Glik
“Is that part of your consideration when picking words for a song, or do you just happen to like the text? In other words, do you actively intend to educate through your music?”
The printed volumes that established his reputation, however, present only the public face of the man. This notebook opens an altogether different window, revealing the private workshop of one of nineteenth-century Jewry's greatest scholars.
One of the great strengths of this series is that it succeeds with very different audiences.
What unfolds throughout the correspondence is far more than a simple exchange of ideas. Rather, the letters reveal the extraordinary scholarly discipline with which Rabbi Kahana approached every aspect of the project.
By Mendi Glik
They take the music very seriously, but don’t take themselves too seriously.
From the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, this essay uncovers surprising parallels between America's most beloved fairy tale and the Jewish journey through exile, identity, and redemption.
The result is not simply more commentary, but a panoramic view of how Jews have studied and understood the Torah across the generations.
Works deemed too controversial, too politically sensitive, or too marginal for the printing press continued to survive through the older, quieter medium of handwritten transmission.
Ironically, early Zionist settlers did not initially embrace falafel, as many immigrants from Eastern Europe retained the foods of their homelands, such as bread, potatoes, cabbage, and other staples of Ashkenazi cuisine.
By Avi Woolf
I wanted to make the actual Churban relatable to people... We have a G-d who is longing to be home with His children, and He doesn't have a home.
By Mendi Glik
Borzutzky came to Israel to study at the Rimon School of Music in Israel – where, of all places, he discovered the Jewish spark buried deep within him. Since then, he has made aliyah, fully returned to his roots, and started a family.
The Jewish community in Prague under German occupation was reorganized under strict Nazi supervision and Edelstein rose rapidly within its leadership structure because of his administrative abilities, language skills, and reputation for discipline.
By Mendi Glik
“These arguments surface every 10 to 15 years,” Ari says. “Books and pamphlets were written against MBD many years ago when he started because he used rock and pop styles. Music is fluid. Many people were against it. The older generation always says the same thing: The new music is too aggressive.”
By Ben Rothke
Amital taught his students that true strength lies not in unyielding rigidity but in the courage to adapt while remaining deeply anchored in one’s essence.
On one side, you see the unmistakable, bold handwriting of none other than Rav Meir Shapiro, the legendary visionary of Daf Yomi and Lublin. On the reverse is a letter by the Imrei Emes of Ger, Rav Avraham Mordechai Alter.
For Zionist leaders, the White Paper was catastrophic. Weizmann argued that Britain was reneging on solemn commitments and Ben Gurion famously declared that Jews would “fight the war as if there were no White Paper and fight the White Paper as if there were no war.”
By Mendi Glik
I need a car with a good, high-quality sound system. Different models come with different sound systems, and within each model, different trims have different setups.
The manuscript is a unique recension of the Lurianic Kavvanot, the intricate mystical intentions associated with prayer, for Shabbat and the Jewish festivals.
Showing that reading is a challenge and doesn’t just happen automatically is something that young children will recognize and identify with.
Langlet’s long engagement with this milieu habituated him to think in supranational and humanitarian terms, and it is difficult to overstate how formative this was; decades before the Holocaust, he was already embedded in a community that defined itself against ethnic exclusion.
By Mendi Glik
He always enjoys seeing people enjoy his music, and he receives emails from all over the world.
By Ben Rothke
He writes that smoking is a significant risk factor for vision loss in most retinal diseases, particularly in diabetes and macular degeneration.
This great work was compiled by leading Torah scholars who remain true to the original text while also recognizing the modern reader’s expectations.
Hidden from public view for centuries, this extraordinary manuscript came to light only through careful examination of a collection entrusted to the shop for sale.
Deprived of formal academic training, he pursued mathematics through private study and informal mentorship, drawing on books, correspondence, and engagement with learned societies. Far from hindering him, this unconventional path fostered an independence of thought that would later allow him to see patterns in demographic data that others had missed.
By Mendi Glik
Every time Levine composed a song, he wanted people to be comfortable with it right away. The tune should seem a little familiar, but with a chidush (something new).
Historians of American education and Jewish life have noted that his dictionary familiarized non-Jewish Americans with Hebrew-derived terms without attaching stigma to Jewish identity, but for Jewish educators, this was a double-edged sword...
By Mendi Glik
When he sings at a chuppah and sees the chosson and kallah glowing, Faiden knows he is fulfilling his shlichus.
Born consistently resisted efforts by younger physicists to portray Einstein as obsolete or reactionary, and he publicly emphasized Einstein’s foundational role in creating the conceptual framework without which quantum theory itself could not exist.
By Mendi Glik
At his parents’ home, everyone sang – not professionally, but they all loved to sing. He has bli ayin hara 11 siblings, so you can just imagine their Shabbat table when they were growing up. Not only did everyone sing, but every sibling wanted to be the lead singer.
Although he did not court the approval of Jewish newspapers, he was acutely aware of their influence in liberal circles, writing privately that “Approval or disapproval in the Jewish press is of minor concern, provided that the law stands and the state remains firm.”
By Mendi Glik
Over the years, Cohen was in close contact with his uncle. He used to send him songs and consult with him. Shloime taught him that to sing is to pray.
Wells exemplifies a strain of liberal thought that underestimated the resilience of antisemitism and overestimated the protective power of universal ideals.
By Alan Zeitlin
The play presents Dahl as a man in physical pain, desperate to secure his marriage to his second wife, and increasingly cornered by public backlash.
By Mendi Glik
The album features rich orchestration, blending strings, brass, and piano with saxophone, clarinet, and electric guitar in the style of traditional chassidic music.
This week I continue with a discussion of six additional popular toys that were created by Jewish inventors.
One of the most enduring controversies surrounding Barbie concerns the question of originality; critics argued that Ruth had appropriated the idea from the Bild Lilli doll and that full credit should therefore not accrue to her.
By Mendi Glik
For thousands of years, throughout the long years of exile, the Jewish people have never forgotten Jerusalem. And indeed, after two thousand years in the Diaspora, Hashem performed a huge miracle and returned Am Yisrael to the land of Israel, and to Jerusalem.
He was certainly not a charismatic hero in the mold of Moshe Dayan, nor a political visionary like Ben Gurion. Rather, he represented the disciplined, professional officer whose contributions were essential to the survival and consolidation of the State of Israel.
By Mendi Glik
The Zionist movement drew profound inspiration from Bar Kochba’s spirit of resistance. But it is deeply ironic that today, many self-proclaimed liberals continue to refer to our ancient homeland as Palestine with total disregard for the name’s origins.
As exhibitions grew more competitive, pilots from other schools pushed for higher speeds, steeper dives, and more dangerous stunts. Wilbur and Orville Wright were steadfast in resisting this trend, emphasizing control and structural integrity, an ethos passionately embraced by Welsh.
By Mendi Glik
The field of wedding bands is crowded. There are many in the marketplace. But Shir Soul stands out because of the high standards Ross maintains for the band.
Today, Habima retains institutional and symbolic prominence as Israel’s official national theatre and it is widely treated as a foundational institution in modern Hebrew theatre.
By Mendi Glik
I asked some Israelis in the community if they knew the song. And guess what? They also were not familiar with it. I realized that most of the readers here also might not be familiar with the song, so I decided to review it in this column.
Once he became Michael Boaz Israel, Cresson’s energies turned with intensity toward the welfare of the Jewish people – spiritually, materially, and politically – and he embraced a life of public Jewish responsibility.
By Mendi Glik
In the concentration camps and the gas chambers, Jews were murdered on the cursed soil of Europe. And while their brothers and sisters in the United States couldn’t do much for them, the little they could do was to shout.
By Mendi Glik
MBD produced his son’s first album, titled “Together.” When it came to the second album, his father stepped back and encouraged Werdyger to take the wheel, offering guidance as needed.
By Mendi Glik
Classic Israeli music has many songs to offer about spring and nature. And how could it not? Just walking outside in Israel immediately inspires you.
By Mendi Glik
As the soloist who helped popularize these songs for the original Pirchei choir, Sonnenblick reunites with his younger self on the new album, Yussi Sonnenblick: Then and Now, through harmonies and melodies, bringing those timeless pieces back to life in a way that only he can.
By Mendi Glik
Shabbat is the peak of the week, explains Meir. And for him, the peak of Shabbat was always singing zemirot.
By Mendi Glik
Perhaps one of the most famous and most beloved songs about Rabbi Elimelech is the well-known popular Yiddish folk song “Der Rebbe Elimelech,” or “Harabi Elimelech” in Hebrew.
By Mendi Glik
What I like about Simche Friedman’s Purim medley, which he released last year, is that it’s not too electronic. The beat is a freilach style, upbeat, and makes you jump.
By Mendi Glik
A good Purim party needs music – good music. When you build your playlist for your upcoming Purim party, don’t forget to check the two columns from last year – you’ll find some good suggestions. And now let’s look at some more.
By Mendi Glik
At age six, Harris started to play the violin. His parents sent him to music school because his uncle had given him a violin, and he joined the school orchestra, which he played in for five years.
By Mendi Glik
Katz has this unique feature that his music speaks to a wide range of people.
By Mendi Glik
Hisyatzvu features a clarinet solo in the middle, followed by a piano solo, which sounds jazzier. I can understand why it didn’t become a first or second dance song at weddings, because it is a little complex. But it’s a great song.
By Mendi Glik
Jews and Jazz takes the form of mini-biographies of the most important Jewish contributors to jazz since the 1920s. It focuses on 140 people – 136 of them Jewish, and four non-Jewish but with connections to the Jewish world – all of whom have had significant impact on jazz since its development in the past 100 years or so.
By Mendi Glik
Chasidic music is limited. That’s the nature of the music. Think about it, Bichler says – most of the Jews in Eastern Europe were hardworking people. Many of them were in survival mode. Life was not easy. And that was reflected in the music. It was simple.
By Mendi Glik
His style is different from the typical Klezmer players. He’s not only a Klezmer violinist; he’s also a jazz violinist – he mixes the two genres.
By Mendi Glik
Right after Yaakov concludes his beracha to Ephraim and Menashe, he blesses their father, his beloved son, Yosef. Va’ani natati lecha sh’chem echad al acheicha… – And I gave you sh’chem echad – sh’chem in Hebrew means shoulder. But in Yaakov’s beracha, it means that he gave Yosef more, something extra above his brother.
By Mendi Glik
I mentioned that many tracks on his album have a traditional chassidic feel, with brass, strings, piano, and classic rhythms. He told me that was absolutely intentional. To him, this is genuine heimishe music – music that comes from the neshama.
By Mendi Glik
Whether you read this column on Tuesday, Friday, or even Motzaei Shabbat, it’s still Chanukah – and Chanukah parties are still going on. So today I’d like to review some music for Chanukah.
By Mendi Glik
Where does their inspiration come from? They tell me they are inspired by world events as well as personal experiences.
By Mendi Glik
Ahavat Yisrael – loving and caring for another Jew as though he were you – is something which is identified with Rav Neria, zt”l. Over the years, his students have told many stories about how he loved them, how he cared about each of them, and how he loved Am Yisrael.
By Mendi Glik
Yativ has always understood that music is a key to the soul. His goal is to create music with messages of emunah and closeness to Hashem.
By Mendi Glik
While there are so many wedding songs out there in the Jewish music world (which I wouldn’t be able to cover in one column), I’d like to recommend one which might not be the most well-known wedding song but is really beautiful.
By Mendi Glik
Walking the streets of Hebron is a unique experience. You can see and feel the history from every street corner. Almost every place you walk has a story.
By Mendi Glik
One of my favorite singers is Yehuda Glanz, whose album Na’ale, which was released in 1993, has been one of my favorites since I was in high school.
By Mendi Glik
In general, Dedi did a lot of chesed. While he was considered a chasidic singer, some of his songs are very Zionist and patriotic and talk about our zechus (right) to be in Eretz Yisrael – something we find less among other classical chasidic singers.
By Alan Zeitlin
Jewish actor Saul Rubinek talks about his role as a rabbi in the 2022 film Shttl and starring in the new Off-Broadway play in Brooklyn called Playing Shylock.
By Mendi Glik
While many of the secular Israeli songs were influenced by the Bible and respected Jewish tradition, some of them were totally inappropriate and disrespectful, and made a mockery of our tradition.
By Mendi Glik
As we know, Hashem created the levana (moon) on the fourth day, and it’s also the subject of one of Avraham Fried’s songs. His album Bracha Vehatzlacha was released in 1995 and is one of my favorites.
By Mendi Glik
For those of you who are hearing about them for the first time, run to YouTube or Spotify right after Havdalah. Your Chol HaMoed travels are going to be a lot of fun – their music and rhythm are very upbeat.
September 18, 2026 
