An image of a pig wearing a shtrayml, a fur hat often associated with hasidic Jews, understandably raises some eyebrows. One could be forgiven for thinking such images are part of an antisemitic propaganda effort, but in fact, the concept of animals wearing shtraymls has commonly been featured in works of Jewish satire…
Chaim Topol’s Unbelievable Journey to “Fiddler on the Roof”
The lead role? In English? In London? Dan Almagor, the translator of “Fiddler on the Roof” into Hebrew, almost laughed in Chaim Topol’s face when the actor told him he was auditioning for the role of Tevye the Milkman in the prestigious British production. Although he had seen Topol’s failure only a year before live on American television, he could not have been happier to admit his mistake…
Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Napoleon: The Meeting That Never Was
In 1799, after a perilous journey, Rabbi Nachman arrived in the Land of Israel just in time to witness its conquest by Napoleon. Only by a miracle did R. Nachman escape Napoleon’s siege on Acre. So why did he make the French general the hero of one of his best-known stories?
The Woman Who Ignited the Hasmonean Rebellion
Very few know her story. It isn’t taught in schools and certainly not in kindergartens, but according to the midrash, Hannah, daughter of Matityahu, sister of the Maccabees, was a key figure in the Hanukkah story. What does the midrash tell us of the woman who stood up to protect her Jewish sisters? How did she use her wedding day to spark the fire of rebellion in her brothers?
The Wise Men of Chelm: The Unfair Shaming of a Jewish Community
How did the Jews of Chelm, a city in Poland, acquire their reputation as a “town of fools”? Could Chelm have actually been a community of great sages? We set out in search of the true story behind this odd piece of Jewish folklore…
Who Are the Jews Depicted in These Holocaust-Era Portraits?
“These were powerful images I saw – to give form to all that misery – to show it to the world – this was always my intent”. The artist David Friedmann produced hundreds of portraits during the time of the Nazi occupation in Prague. Surviving are only ninety-four portraits of members of the Prague Jewish Community from the years 1940-1941. Yet numerous subjects depicted in these artworks remain unidentified to this day. Can you help us solve this mystery?
Did Medieval Jewish Kabbalists Design the Tarot Deck?
Until the 18th century, tarot cards were simply playing cards. It was then that occult researchers became convinced that these cards in fact held magical properties, and that they contained a secret truth that originated in ancient Egypt and was preserved in Jewish mysticism…
“Israel is a graveyard for Jewish languages”: An Interview With Dr. Tamar Eilam Gindin
The culture of Iranian Jews in Israel is bound up with a language that is nearly lost: Judeo-Persian. According to Dr. Tamar Eilam Gindin, a linguist and scholar of Iran, Judeo-Persian is not just one language. It is rather like a tapestry woven over thousands of years of Jewish history in Persia, so that sometimes different dialects were even found in the same city. In this interview, Dr. Eilam Gindin discusses the fate of Judeo-Persian in Israel as well as the secret language of Persian Jewry…
“Nor shall you follow their laws”? The Influence of Islamic Mysticism on Judaism
A look at the subtle influence of Islamic mysticism on Jewish worship and thought from the Middle Ages to the present
Separation: The Origin of the Women’s Section in the Synagogue
Some of us find it hard to believe that in Talmudic times women and men prayed together in the synagogue. When did a separate gallery for women become mandatory in Orthodox synagogues, and how did the separation of men and women in the prayer service come about?
