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Do Tolkien’s Depictions Of Dwarves In The Hobbit Prove That He Was An...
In an interview, Tolkien, while not specifically characterizing the Jews as warlike, nonetheless spoke to an explicit connection with biblical characterizations of the Jews, with the biblical narrative...
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Defending The Zohar
Kunitz's intellectual pursuits and actions frequently placed him in tension with more traditional rabbis, yet he earned respect for his profound knowledge of Talmudic texts and his pivotal role in the...
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Unpopular Porcelain & A Puzzling Provenance
A somewhat peculiar fact is that while glass and porcelain Judaica generally achieve disappointing results in the United States, they do remarkably better in the salerooms of Europe.
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Goethe, Oppenheim, And The Jews
Although he would not become famous for his Jewish work until some thirty years later, Oppenheim painted one of his most famous works, Return of a Jewish Volunteer from the Wars of Liberation to His...
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Post Holocaust Resurgence Of Jewish Scholarship
The Munich Talmud or The Survivors Talmud boasts vibrant title pages, capturing the historic moment of printing in postwar Germany.
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The Truth About Quadas Kabir
So how did the Jews completely transform the change Quadas Kabir story and for what purpose? Who was the nefarious Jew who decided to appropriate glorious Palestinian history?
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The Rivalry That Got The Talmud Banned
The battle between these two Venetian presses became so intense that complaints reached the revered Rabbi Moshe Isserles (the Rema) in Krakow.
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Marcel Marceau, Holocaust Hero
Marceau’s talent with body language and mime movement may have saved his life while fighting with the French resistance. He claimed that he was caught entirely by surprise when he accidentally ran into...
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A Forgery That Earned A Cherem
In the introduction to Imrei Shefer, Rabbi Isaac addresses this imposter work, which had been printed a few years prior in Venice in 1593. Rabbi Isaac was quick to clarify that it was a forgery – one...
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The Antisemitism Of William T. Sherman – And His Great Admiration For A...
It is fascinating to note that, notwithstanding his antisemitism, Sherman was a great admirer of Rose Eytinge (1835-1911), a Jewish-American actress and author who rose to become one of the most...
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The First Hebrew Mention Of The New World
The most significant of Farissol’s writings is Igereth Orchoth Olam, a comprehensive cosmographic and geographic work based on original research and the studies of Christian and Arab geographers.
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The Incredible Gershwin Brothers
According to most authorities, the family's Judaism was neither religious nor political but, rather, cultural and casual.
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A Vanished World Haggadah
Hebrew printing on Corfu was a late development, only taking root in the late 19th century. Before this, the community was forced to send their manuscripts to well-established centers like Venice for...
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A Selection Of Pesach-Related Correspondence By Jewish Writers And Artists
Even standing on their own without musical accompaniment, Shemer’s lyrics were achingly beautiful and highly emotional.
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The Oldest Matzah Ball Soup Tureen In Existence
Even with the heavy wear to this piece, I had some competition in the live bidding, but I eventually prevailed and was the piece’s new owner. Now my task was to research the age and origin of this...
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Passover Before & During The Holocaust
Collins was a passionate critic of antisemitism, as to which he advised his troops: “I know that there exists, in some divisions, what your people call antisemitism. It will not be tolerated in my...
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Haggadot That Defined The Ideals Of The Kibbutz Movement
Over the years, the Kibbutz movement has produced nearly 1,000 distinct iterations of the Haggadah. Each of these versions carries within it a unique vision of Jewish identity, shaped by the values of...
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The Official Postcards Of The Thirteenth Through Eighteenth Congresses
Specially produced beautiful and deeply poignant official postcards were issued for all of the pre-Israel Zionist Congresses (all Congresses after 1948 were held in Jerusalem).
View ArticleRonald Reagan’s Mixed Record On Israel
Upon assuming office as an anti-Communist conservative, he strongly opposed the notion of a P.L.O. state and supported a militarily strong Israel as America's most reliable Middle East ally. Within a...
View ArticleRare First Edition of Barkai
The man who gave us our anthem of hope, of return, of redemption, died alone in exile. But in death, he fulfilled what he wrote.
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Ten Photographs Originally Signed By Chagall From The Gabriel Tapir Collection
Between 1931 and 1934, Chagall worked obsessively on the series The Bible, even going to Amsterdam to carefully study biblical paintings by Rembrandt and El Greco and to examine the extremes in...
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Answers From The Ashes
In bibliographic terms, this is among the earliest major postwar Chabad publications, and it serves as both a spiritual lifeline and a bibliographic treasure for those studying the trajectory of Torah...
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The Judaism Of Arthur Miller
Most of Miller’s plays were performed in Israel, beginning with Salesman, which was performed at the Habimah National Theatre in Tel Aviv (1951). He visited Israel several times, once attending a...
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David Levi: The Forgotten Father of Anglo-Jewish Prayer
What makes Levi’s work so enduring is not only his grasp of the Hebrew but his sensitivity to the te’amim – the flavor and nuance – of the prayers. This wasn’t a robotic translation.
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How Morris ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen Saved the Nascent State of Israel
According to Drage’s biography, Cohen was born in London in 1889 to a family that had just arrived from Poland, but most analysts agree that he was actually born in 1887 to a poor Jewish family in a...
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Shavuot At The Kotel In 1967
The Boston Globe reported that by the end of November 1967, more than 400,000 members of the Jewish faith are estimated to have observed the commandment to wear Phylacteries (tefillin) at the city’s...
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Zishe Breitbart, Shtarker for the Ages
Breitbart became a great source of hope to all sorts of Jews, ranging from the wholly unaffiliated to Orthodox and Charedi rabbis, who could dream of a future of national empowerment and, ultimately, a...
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The Role of the Dreyfus Affair in Ending the Impressionist Era
The impressionists differed in their political and social opinions well before the Affair, and their varying attitudes toward France’s Jewish population proved to be one of the most divisive issues.
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Where Faith Meets the Press The 1712 Amsterdam Haggadah
One of the earliest printed maps in Hebrew, it captures both the geographic and spiritual journey of Am Yisrael.
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Today’s Final Jeopardy Answer: “They All Sang In Hebrew”
Post-World War II Liverpool was generally very antisemitic and Lennon came from an anti-Jewish background. He was known to make impromptu antisemitic comments...
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A Window Into Rashi’s Unprinted Past
Rashi’s commentary was so foundational that it was chosen as the very first Hebrew book to be printed with a date.
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Like the Sea, Like the Sky
The Rebbe Rashab says the commandment of techeiles is a perpetual one, and whenever we are capable of fulfilling it, it is clear that we must do so.
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They All Sang In Hebrew (Continued From Last Week)
Many of Dylan’s songs are replete with biblical references hearkening back to his Jewish studies in childhood.
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Purim Torah From 1715
This past week, I had the pleasure of acquiring a truly exceptional piece from this rich literary tradition – an Italian manuscript from 1715 that brings together, between two modest covers, some of...
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The Jew Who Bombed Both Hiroshima And Nagasaki And Bob Caron’s Contempt for...
Recently, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth caused a stir when, pursuant to President Trump’s long overdue purge of content deemed to promote DEI, he absurdly flagged the name Enola Gay for removal,...
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The Levush: A Halachic Masterpiece Lost to Time
This 1620 edition is among the earliest printings of the complete Sifrei Levushim and was issued just a few years after the author's passing.
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No, I Don’t Know Everything
Coin-like pieces such as this are classified as tokens. A token is not an official government-issued coin but privately made, and is used as a substitute for money or for other purposes like advertising.
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Moses Montefiore and the Damascus Affair
Upon his return to London, Sir Moses was given a hero’s welcome, including a big ceremony and special synagogue services, and, when he met with Queen Victoria to present her with the firman, she...
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A Manuscript of Rabbi Raphael Isaiah Azulai, Eldest Son of the Chida
That this newly acquired manuscript – hidden away for centuries – should resurface now is a quiet miracle.
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