August 22, 1609: Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, known as the “Maharal” of Prague,...
Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, known as the “Maharal” of Prague, died on this date in 1609. Legend and literature credit him with constructing and animating the Golem in order to protect and serve...
February 5, 1993: Hans Jonas, a pioneer of medical ethics, died
Hans Jonas, who fled Nazi Germany (his mother died in Auschwitz), fought in Israel’s war of independence, and in 1964 publicly denounced his mentor, Martin Heidegger, for having pro-Nazi views, died on this date...
March of the Living launches global interfaith initiative to commemorate Kristallnacht: #LetThereBeLight
On November 9, 1938, a two-day pogrom began during which the Nazis burned more than 1,400 synagogues and Jewish institutions in Germany and Austria on ‘Kristallnacht’ (The Night of Broken Glass), a critical moment...
STM, what we think, what we want, by Theodore Bikel
STM, what we think, what we want as expressed by Theodore Bikel in an interview with Miri Koral, founding director of The California Institute for Yiddish Culture & Language (CIYCL).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9nDdGANeyg
Spotlight Series: Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel...
Religious Services Minister David Azoulay succumbs to cancer
Thousands attended the funeral of Religious Affairs Minister David Azoulay (Shas), who succumbed to cancer on Tuesday at the age of 64.
Chief Sephardi Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef praised Azoulay as a great teacher and public...
Disabled young adults bring prayers to the Western Wall
The directorial staff of Shalva, an organization that provides transformative care for people with disabilities in Israel, is used to being called up about new ideas and projects. But when a friend of the...
ZAKA rescue organization founder to receive Israel Prize for lifetime achievement
Yehuda Meshi Zahav, founder and chairman of ZAKA, was tapped for the 2021 Israel Prize in the category of “Lifetime Achievement and Special Contribution to Society and the State,” Israeli Education Minister Yoav Galant...
March 19, 1933: Philip Roth, one of America’s most powerful and celebrated novelists, was...
Philip Roth, one of America’s most powerful and celebrated novelists, was born in Newark, New Jersey on this date in 1933. Roth’s twenty-seven novels range from out-and-out political satire (Our Gang, about Richard Nixon being...
Remembering the Jewish lives lost to COVID-19
Reality dawned slowly, painfully. In mid-March, it suddenly became clear that the novel coronavirus that first ravaged China, and then parts of Europe, was becoming a global pandemic. Five months later, the death toll...
New survey finds widespread concern over anti-Semitism among American Jews
A vast majority of American Jews consider anti-Semitism to be a major problem facing the community amid widespread fear that it is increasing.
According to a new survey by the American Jewish Committee, nearly nine...