Jewish history

How a machzor survived over six centuries and Nazi attacks to make it to Israel

The first volume of the machzor was completed in1272 in Wurzburg, Germany. Today, it is displayed in the National Library in Jerusalem.

‘WORMS MACHZOR,’ 1280; reconstructed cover, Volume 2.
DIZENGOFF SQUARE, named for the Tel Aviv founding father.

This month in Jewish history: The first permanent government of Israel

 MAN walks in the Jewish outpost of Yahish Zion, near the Jewish settlement of Psagot, in the West Bank.

Israel's heart is not in Tel Aviv - it is in Judea and Samaria - opinion

RED HEIFER

What honoring our parents teaches us about faith, logic, and Judaism


This month in Jewish history: Operation Moses, Hanukkah, and Spinoza

A highly abridged monthly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

ETHIOPIAN IMMIGRANTS upon their arrival at an absorption center in Ashkelon, 1984.

Haaretz’s claims on brit milah: Separating fact from misconception - opinion

That this family continues to have a strong connection to our nation, history, and customs speaks to how brit milah – unchanged itself across millennia – continues to preserve the Jewish people.

THE WRITER, second from left, performs a circumcision in the presence of four generations, great-grandfather to newborn. Just as much as the Jewish people have continuously kept the commandment of circumcision, the practice has preserved our identity, he asserts.

Beyond the beaches and medieval walls: Discovering Jewish Rhodes

From airport signs, restaurant menus on buzzing streets, and business cards in Hebrew, an Israeli visitor can almost feel at home in Rhodes.

KAHAL SHALOM Synagogue.

Mermaids and a talking donkey: A treasure trove of ‘midrashic’ interpretations - review

Zev T. Gershon's '100 Wonders in the World of Torah' includes entries of little-known stories and oddities.

‘BALAAM AND The Angel,’ 1493 woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle.

The fascinating history of Jews in Montenegro

This small Adriatic nation, nestled between the mountains and the sea, with barely 600,000 citizens, has a rich Jewish history.

TODAY, THE Jewish community in Montenegro is small but vibrant.

Back to Budapest: A mixed experience

Before the Holocaust, 24% of Budapest’s population had been Jewish. Today, there are some 100,000 Hungarian Jews.

THE WRITER and some of her family outside the synagogue, at the same spot where her parents stood after their wedding in December 1947.

Rosh Hashanah: One union

God wants us to be in unity: that we honor one another, and that we respect each other’s wishes and aspirations.

UNITY DOES not mean uniformity of opinion.

Jewish cemetery predating expulsion from Britain discovered in London

The cemetery, discovered on the Barbican estate, is understood to date back to 1070 and is located near ancient Roman walls.

A Jewish cemetery (illustrative)

New digital archive gives global access to Israel’s archaeological treasures

The Israel Antiquities Authority has launched a new database holding over three million historically significant records.

An intricately decorated 1,700-year-old ceramic oil lamp adorned with symbols linked to the Jewish Temple and discovered on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives, displayed in Jerusalem on Dec. 26, 2024

Challenges of Holocaust education at generational crossroads with survivors dwindling - opinion

The Holocaust, an unprecedented event in human history, is often turned into a rhetorical tool to justify political positions, intensify public and international conflicts, and incite hatred.

THE WRITER speaks at an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day last January at the Ghetto Fighters’ House.