Jews the world over will celebrate the holiday of Chanuka this month. Chanuka is a difficult holiday to define. It is of rabbinic origin commemorating the victory of the Hasmoneans over their Syrian/Greek oppressors and the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem to monotheistic worship. The great candelabra in the Temple was relit with| Jewish History
One of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of a democratic society is that it allows evil forces to operate with impunity under the protection of democratic processes and guarantees. In our time, freedoms of expression, assembly and speech have been greatly expanded so that there is almost nothing outside their purview and definition. We see that| Jewish History
In the 1930s, Roman Vishnaic went through Eastern Europe taking pictures of Jewish life, later collected in albums such as “A Vanished Life.”| Jewish History | We Bring Jewish History To Life
One of the many blessings bestowed upon the fortunate residents in Jerusalem is free advice from strangers about all sorts of issues, petty and great. I was once again made aware of this compassionate bent of Israelis on my last visit accompanying my wife to our local shmitta approved fruit and vegetable store. As we| Jewish History
One of the most beautiful areas in Israel is the Judean Desert. Even though the word desert in English conjures up a sandy wasteland such as the Sahara and much of the Saudi Arabian peninsula, the Judean desert does not fit that description. The area is not devoid of animal, vegetable and human life. It| Jewish History | We Bring Jewish History To Life
The wonderfully joyous holiday of Chanuka occurs this month. In light of the horrific events of the past few months, the message and lights of Chanuka could not come at a more appropriate and necessary time. For Chanuka, in its essence, represents the ability to withstand oppression and evil, coercion and bigotry, and to| Jewish History | We Bring Jewish History To Life
Whereas younger people in their adolescent and early adulthood years constantly look forward (I think that is why history teachers find it so difficult to interest them in the subject at hand) we older folks are much more prone to look back and restudy past events that were meaningful to us. The advantage of age| Jewish History | We Bring Jewish History To Life
I know that it sounds strange but Herman Wouk is an important person in my life. I met him only three times in my life and probably we exchanged no more than twenty words between us in all of those meetings. Wouk passed away at the age of 104 on May 15, 2019 but remarkably| Jewish History | We Bring Jewish History To Life
A friend of mine told me of an interesting conversation that occurred between two professors at a Catholic university in the United States. One of the professors was a nun, while the other professor was an observant Orthodox Jew. The nun said to the Jewish professor: “You know, that after long deliberation on the| Jewish History