יום שישי, ג׳ אב תשפ״וFriday, July 17, 2026
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By Libi Astaire
The year 1648 was supposed to have been a momentous one for the people of Israel.
We must show them that being a true Jew is being true to one's people as well as to oneself.
Ironically, shortly before being assigned to his historic mission, he had requested a transfer to a combat unit to avenge his relatives in Europe.
The designated escape route was for the children to cross into the Netherlands, from where they were to embark via ferry to England.
By Libi Astaire
In fact, you can barely turn around in Krakow’s Jewish quarter without bumping into a legend of some sort.
While advocating Jewish liberty, however, Jefferson simultaneously held Judaism itself in low regard.
While he wrote only one piece of music directly for liturgical use, Hashkeveinu, which premiered at the Park Avenue Synagogue on May 11, 1945, Bernstein often named his works after Jewish themes and personalities.
The Ritchie Boys were approximately 9,000 US servicemen who received their training at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Maryland.
Mrs. R. hurls the violin at the couch, screeching, “It’s horrible! I sound so horrible!” and again runs out of the room, sobbing.
However, many people who visit a therapist and feel they weren’t helped conclude that “therapy doesn’t work.” This is unfortunate because those people don’t get the help they could receive.
By Sandy Eller
The 18-hour event, which ran from midnight on December 23 to 6 p.m. on December 24, coincided with a project run by Yavneh’s middle school that had students memorizing the answers to 18,000 questions on the entire Sefer Bereishis.
By Libi Astaire
During the Middle Ages Girona was one of Europe's most important centers of Kabbalah.
When Dreyfus was finally cleared and Zola returned to France, Monet sank into a deep depression over the sordid and disgraceful affair.
In August of 1945, US Army Chaplain Major Aaron Paperman was stationed in Rome, Italy, and sent a telegram to the Agudath Israel Youth Council in New York requesting aid for Jews that had been liberated. Though the war was over and the Nazis were defeated, the remnant of European Jewry continued to suffer. Bereft […]
She needs to rescue her fleshless memories, lest they flicker out and die.
“It is a gruesome thing to ask every married soldier to visualize his complete destruction… It would be terribly destructive to morale.”
What follows are several excerpts, translated into English, to give readers a flavor of the late president’s beautiful prose:
The remarkable Unger, a true mathematical Renaissance man, was a visionary in the field of mathematics education who also wrote numerous texts, many of which became pedagogical standards used by university systems across Europe, particularly in Russia
Bring home for the holidays was every GI's dream...
In Twin Books Corp v. Walt Disney (1966), a patent infringement case involving the rights to Bambi, the California court wasted no time in properly crediting authorship of the beloved children's classic: It is a very common misconception that Bambi was the brainchild of the world's foremost entertainer of children, Walt Disney. To the […]
By Erica Lyons
While I envision the need to travel back and forth from time to time, my place is here with my husband and children.
Compelled to show his friendship for the Jews in a more concrete form, Califano decided to print, at his own expense, a million color postcards reproducing The Ignominy of the Twentieth Century and to sell them nationally for the benefit of Jewish refugees from the Nazis.
By Sandy Eller
Bigger isn’t always better. We know this from Pirkei Avos, which advises us not to look at the container, but rather at what is inside, and from the old adage, “Good things come in small packages.” While those words can be applied to a wide range of objects and situations, they hold equally true for […]
Another intriguing “Wyatt Earp Jewish connection” involves the long-standing mystery of the legendary fallout between Wyatt and Doc Holliday.
By Rhona Lewis
The Red Orchestra was made up of three different units. The Trepper unit was based in Germany, France and Belgium.
It is important to recognize that her efforts on behalf of rescue weren’t always lauded.
As he shut his piercing grey eyes and began chanting a portion of the service from memory, we could all sense he was actually transported back there through time and space – and the best part was that he was taking us with him.
There is a rich Jewish history in this part of the world. Now the hidden customs are being revealed, as many seek to reconnect with their roots.
On November 22, 1963, Abraham Zapruder created one of the most famous, and valuable, pieces of film and became forever linked with one of the greatest American national tragedies when he stood with his camera on an elevated concrete abutment as President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Exhibited here is […]
By Rhona Lewis
Upon meeting the Zionist delegation, General Wu, a recent convert to Christianity, said, “You are my spiritual brothers.
With the assistance of Mr. Tress, Private Moskowitz tried tirelessly to become an army chaplain.
By Libi Astaire
The pogroms of 1881-1884 were sparked by the assassination of Alexander II.
There are nearly 3,000 lone soldiers in Israel today; most of whom return to empty, lonely apartments.
Hundreds of thousands of people visit the house each year and are touched by the tragic story.
Jews who were considered, but not ultimately selected, include Woody Allen, Saul Bellow, David Ben-Gurion, Marc Chagall, Anne Frank, and Barbra Streisand.
What makes this diary so historically significant is that it is not just the private memoir of Dr. Seidman. Rather, it is a reflection of the suffering of Klal Yisrael at that time.
By Rhona Lewis
On an ice-cold night in 1942, while taking part in a demanding Palmach training course in Juara in north Israel, Chaviva Reich made the treacherous descent to kibbutz Ein Hashofet to bring back some grapes for her colleagues and raise their morale. She was caught by a kibbutz guard, the grapes were confiscated, and she […]
Not as well known is that long before Anderson was denied permission to sing at Constitution Hall, she was refused lodging at Nassau Inn in Princeton during her April 16, 1937 concert at the McCarter Theatre there, and Albert Einstein invited her into his home as a guest.
“Your children, look up there at the top of the chimney. Do you see the smoke coming out?” She looked up, confused by his words. He laughed harshly. “That smoke. There are your children!”
By Jolie Greiff
In the face of evil, we can do acts of kindness. We can do good deeds.
By Libi Astaire
After diamonds were discovered in South Africa in the mid-1800s, Antwerp regained its prominence as the diamond capital of the world.
Marceau suggested a dark reason for his wordless art: "The people who came back from the [concentration] camps were never able to talk about it…. My name is Mangel. I am Jewish. Perhaps that, unconsciously, contributed towards my choice of silence."
By Rhona Lewis
Anna Henriques, who hopes to one day head back to Jamaica, says, “Rabbi Raskin must be willing to respect what exists in Jamaica. The way to the future is to gently bring in the traditions of the past and at the same time embrace the idiosyncrasies of the Jamaican people.”
By Tzivia Emmer
It may be that seeking to connect with the past is rooted in the impermanence and impersonality of modern life.
Everyone in the kehilla can get involved, she added, and mothers can network with each other.
For those who couldn’t go off base, a personal parcel was priceless in its ability to convey a feeling of home.
By Rhona Lewis
With the danger of being discovered always a possibility, the partisans not only moved around in the forest, but also eliminated any collaborators.
Many properly cite Innocents as evidence that the Arab presence in Eretz Yisrael was so inconsequential before the arrival of the Zionist pioneers as to defeat any modern Arab claim to the land.
For the Jewish community, the influx of so many world-class musicians provided a tremendous cultural stimulus and generated great pride.
By Rhona Lewis
"Spot On,” our semi-regular feature on off-the-beaten-track places in Israel, takes us to the Golan
By Sandy Eller
"One minute I sing a song and they go back in time to their youth."
By dvora
Birobidzhan railway station sign is the world's only one spelling the town's name in Yiddish letters
“Can I wear tefillin in the bathroom?” That was the question US Private Nuchim Lebensohn wrote to Mike Tress, president of the Agudath Israel Youth Council, in a letter dated November 18, 1942. Lebensohn was not your typical young American GI. Polish by birth, he was forty-three years old and married when he was drafted […]
The nations of the world left the vessel to sit rotting in the water during one of the coldest winters in decades and with its starving and freezing passengers abandoned.
By Libi Astaire
If the people lacked for material things, the Pale was spiritually rich.
An avid and unapologetic eugenicist, Shaw suggested that the Nazis “make it punishable incest for a Jew to marry anyone but an Aryan.”
After camping out in tents for a year, the Maoz family needed some time out.
Several thousand Eastern European Jews had escaped Nazi death and Soviet persecution by fleeing to Shanghai, China.
Jewish Democrats did not entirely trust the son of Joseph Kennedy, a man broadly considered to be both anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi.
French thinkers of the Enlightenment were generally not pro-Semitic, to say the least.
By Libi Astaire
After the last of Austria's Jews were murdered, Albert confiscated whatever Jewish property remained.
Szold was among the founders and leaders (she served on its executive committee) of Ichud (“Unity”), a political group that campaigned against the creation of an independent, sovereign Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael.
The sense of the painting is that the old man has sacrificed himself to save the boy, as whatever meager provisions exist have been provided to the child.
One should not give the money before Purim morning or after sunset.
The mishloach manos of times gone by were sometimes simple and sometimes elaborate, but the main focus was on the preparation of the delicious food they contained.
By Libi Astaire
One of the earliest special Purims we have on record was celebrated by the Jews of Granada and Shmuel HaNagid, the eleventh-century rav, poet, soldier and statesman, and one of the most influential Jews in Muslim Spain.
It was only in the reign of George III (1760-1820) that Jews became socially acceptable in Britain, and Nathan became music master to Princess Charlotte and musical librarian to King George IV.
Agudat Yisrael led a forceful protest in the Knesset deploring the fact that these defenders of Israel had never been given a proper Jewish burial.
By Rhona Lewis
Jews integrated into life in Kenya to such an extent that in 1955, Israel Somen, who had worked extensively on the Lunatic Line (the colloquial name for the railway that was forged madly through forests and ravines, troops of tribesmen and lions) was elected the mayor of Nairobi.
Though the CCAR supported the Jewish right to emigrate to Eretz Yisrael, it strenuously objected to defining Palestine as the Jewish homeland.
Few traces remain of the glory days of Jewish life in the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples, but the demise wasn’t due to the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius. Rather it was a manmade volcano called the Edict of Expulsion from Spain – and not even an invitation to return in Shevat of 1740 could […]
An incredible child protégé and a world chess champion, Boris Spassky (1937- ), best known for his “Match of the Century” loss in Reykjavík to Fischer, will always be inexorably tied to the latter.
The following statement is issued by the Presidium of the Rabbinical Alliance of America.
By Rhona Lewis
Keeping my hands on my head, I looked up to see four or five balls of fire exploding in the sky.
Not as well known, however, is Keller’s involvement with Jewish and Israeli communities.
By Libi Astaire
There were many French Jews who jumped at the chance to shed their ancient identity and assimilate.
By Libi Astaire
It was a land of opportunity, a place where someone who wasn’t afraid of a little hard work, or the challenges of adapting to a different climate and culture, could prosper.
Undoubtedly the greatest manifestation of his antipathy was his infamous declaration: “[Expletive] the Jews. They don’t vote for us anyway.”
By Libi Astaire
"There are no people on earth as foolish as you who deny the Living God."
By Sandy Eller
“I knew it was a great idea, a win-win situation for everyone,” said Burstein.
In 1943, Jewish Agency officials recruited her to join a clandestine military project whose ultimate purpose was to offer aid to beleaguered European Jewry.
By dvora
As optimistic as Menachem Rosenberg is – and he said he is going to Uman – he’s sure that this year, most of the travelers will not tour other religious sites or places in Ukraine.
By Libi Astaire
His entire life was dedicated to Torah and he became a pivotal figure in the transmittal of the Oral Torah to the next generation.
By Rhona Lewis
When you don't have anyone else to turn to... that's when you're tied to Hashem the closest.
By Libi Astaire
The interpreter was expected to be a talmid chacham himself and be able to also offer explanations and clarifications to the students.
By Libi Astaire
"Rabi, if I make the flames hotter and remove the wool sponges from your heart, will you bring me to the World to Come?"
By Libi Astaire
In addition to his great erudition, Rabi Akiva was known for his optimism.
Frank proclaimed himself Zvi’s successor and the reincarnation of King David.
By Rhona Lewis
I probe a little deeper and Shula takes me into the world of phantom pains and prosthetic limbs.
By Libi Astaire
This went on until she had immersed eighty times, and then Hashem at last took pity upon her.
By Libi Astaire
Woe to us that we have to be put to death like common heathen and murderers!
By Rhona Lewis
The traditional services that take place here transport visitors back in time, enabling them to smell and feel the authentic historical experience.
By Libi Astaire
Even though the Roman victory signaled the end of Jewish sovereignty, it did not mean the end of Torah Judaism.
After they saw what happened in Gush Katif in 2005, they understood Judea and Samaria could well be next.
On his marriage, he wrote: "This is what I believe: something of the core, of the essence of this meaningful and life-affirming Judaism will not be absent from our home" (1882).
By Rhona Lewis
Sleepily, I watched him kissing Mai's chubby thighs.
The similarities between Goethe’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the Golem of Prague are stark and unmistakable...
By Rhona Lewis
How does Ami cope with being drawn into the maelstrom of pain that victims of terror live with?
I kept looking at him and looking away, and his eyes seemed brown and kind.
July 17, 2026 
