The celebrated author and her family prepare a vast interactive performance…
Celebrating Passover… as the Ambassador to Egypt
“…we felt it would have been strange to hold a Seder in Egypt”
Salvation from 500 Drunken Killer Elephants: The Other Maccabee Story
A different kind of redemption from Greek tyranny
How Tishrei Became the First Month of the Hebrew Calendar
How did we come to celebrate the New Year in the fall when in the Bible it was celebrated in the spring? And what is the origin of the first month’s peculiar name?
The Mysticism Behind the Counting of the Omer
A look at the Kabbalistic significance of the Counting of the Omer, which culminates in the festival of Shavuot
Erasing the Name of Haman the Wicked: The Origin of the Grogger
How does one drown out the name of the most hated, evil man in the Megillah? By making good use of a Christian folk tradition of course!
Celebrating in the Shadow of WWII: “Jewish Photos” from September 1939
For two and a half years, the weekly magazine “Yiddishe Bilder” aimed to become a Jewish version of Life magazine. The fall of 1939 was marked by both the Jewish holiday season and the guns of war…
Once and for All: Why We Eat Hamantaschen on Purim
Why was it specifically Haman’s ear that was chosen as the inspiration for this holiday treat?
The Case of the Headless Man and Insufficient Repentance
Learn about a Kabbalistic tradition that will tell you if you have been sealed in the Book of Life or Death following the High Holy Days.
Who Spilled Honey on the 18th Century Manuscript?
You really should listen to your mother when she tells you not to read at the dinner table…
