Even on Yom Kippur, German Jews in the 19th century were ready to sacrifice themselves for their homeland
Stolen by the Nazis: A Book’s Rediscovery in Jerusalem
The long journey of a book of Leviticus that was hidden in a Vienna basement during the Nazi era, before eventually making its way to the National Library of Israel’s Conservation Lab…
Antisemitic Nationalists Killed Germany’s Jewish FM. His Mom Forgave Them
Walther Rathenau, one of Germany’s wealthiest and most powerful men, was gunned down by radicals in 1922 and mourned by millions. A moving and timeless letter from his mother was read at the murderer’s trial.
Did the Ben Ish Hai, Great Sage of Baghdad, Have an Alter Ego?
On a few occasions, the illustrious Rabbi Yosef Hayim of Baghdad cited a mysterious source whose name and work had never appeared anywhere else…
‘Bitter’ Women at the Seder Table and the Men Who Pointed at Them
This long-forgotten Passover custom was dealt a bitter blow by a sharp wife in a 15th century Haggadah…
“Your rabbi was taken as a hostage”: Accounts of Russian Tactics in WWI
Hostage-taking and forced migration were just two methods used by Russian forces in Ukraine and Poland a century ago
The Pope and Haman in Renaissance Italy
The only known manuscript of The Chronicle of Pope Paul IV is at the National Library in Jerusalem…
This Flamboyant New York Jew Amended Black Legal History
Eight Black youths were hastily sentenced to death in 1931 Alabama. Global outcry ensued, and a flamboyant New York Jewish lawyer was sent down to defend them…
“My spiritual home destroyed itself”: Stefan Zweig’s Suicide Note
The letter with which Stefan Zweig took leave of the world is preserved today in the archives of the National Library of Israel
Did Esperanto Answer the ‘Jewish Question’?
How Jewish was the international tongue that never quite made it…?
