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

Supporting a ‘Free Palestine’ as part of a ‘Stop Bombing Iran’ protest following the US attack on Iranian nuclear sites, near the US Embassy in London, June 23, 2025.

From Der Judenstaat to modern Israel: Herzl’s vision in today’s world - opinion

Declaration of Independence of the United States. New Canaan, 1950. Featuring George Washington.

Looking back at George Washington’s 1790 letter, the root of American religious freedom


Fossils found in Moroccan cave may be a close Homo sapiens ancestor

The fossilized lower jawbones of two adults and a toddler, as well as teeth, a thigh bone, and some vertebrae, were unearthed in a cave in Casablanca, Morocco.

The mandible of an archaic human who lived about 773 000 years ago is pictured after being excavated at a cave called Grotte a Hominides at a site known as Thomas Quarry I in the southwest part of the Moroccan city of Casablanca in this undated photograph released on January 7, 2026.

Roman-era necropolis, ancient workshops unearthed in Egypt’s western Nile Delta

Officials said the finds, announced by Egypt’s antiquities authority, shed light on settlement patterns, production, and funerary practices from the Late Period through Roman and early Islamic eras.

Archaeologists have uncovered a complex of ancient industrial workshops and part of a Roman-era necropolis in Egypt’s western Nile Delta.

Irving Berlin’s 1926 interfaith marriage sparked a Jewish debate that still hasn’t gone - opinion

For more than a century, interfaith marriage has functioned as a kind of Rorschach test within American Jewish life, alternately framed as an existential threat or a potential avenue for renewal.

Irving Berlin and his wife Ellin Mackay appear in a photograph in the late 1920s. The 1926 marriage between the wildly popular Jewish songwriter and a Catholic heiress was a media sensation.

The Jewish immigrant who shaped America’s most famous coin - opinion

Discover Victor Brenner, the Jewish artist who designed the Lincoln penny and left a hidden mark on Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital.

Coins.

Pottery fragments found near Ararat renew debate over site of Noah’s Ark

Professor Faruk Kaya said the dating of the ceramics found broadly aligns with traditional estimates for the era associated with Noah.

What the GPR scans revealed about the Ararat 'Noah's Ark' formation.

For stamp collectors: The nostalgic stamp series issued by the postal service

The series honors the hobby of stamp collecting, showcasing its aspects and aiming to bring both young and veteran collectors closer to a pastime that was once a way of life.

A nostalgic stamp series issued by the Postal Service in honor of stamp collectors.

Bronze Age ‘covered wagon’ emerges as Armenia’s best-preserved ancient vehicle

The Lchashen wagon features a complex mortise-and-tenon construction with bronze fittings that join at least 70 components, while its canopy frame alone required hundreds of precisely mortised holes.

A four-wheeled canopy wagon was recovered from the Lchashen cemetery near Lake Sevan, December 29, 2025.

Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan: Holocaust memory is under sustained attack - opinion

Preserving the memory of the Holocaust is not optional. It is a responsibility to the victims, survivors, and future generations

Actor Rodie Kozlovsky performs in a play incorporating the works of the late German artist and Holocaust survivor Leo Haas at Yad Vashem’s newly opened theater.

Cocktail party: Raising a glass to 2026 with the stories behind your favorite drinks - explainer

The Singapore Sling originated in 1915 at the Long Bar in Singapore’s iconic Raffles Hotel. Bartender Ngiam Tong Boon designed it to look like juice so women could discreetly drink alcohol in public.

Toasting the new year with a colorful, cordial cocktail.

Before ‘SNL,’ there was Sid Caesar and a roomful of Jewish writers

Legendary Jewish comedian Sid Caesar dominated the television screen beginning in the 1950's and left a lasting mark on American showbusiness as we know it.

Imogene Coca and Sid Caesar in a promotional photo for "Your Show of Shows," in 1952. The television show ran on NBC from 1950 to 1954.