As the sun set on the British Mandate and rose over the new State of Israel, civil war raged between Arabs and Jews. Jerusalem’s hundred thousand Jewish residents prepared to celebrate Pesach under siege, unsure whether they were headed for
Though he saw the Jewish people as trapped in a fatal, dead-end existence, writer Hillel Zeitlin labored to bring redemption. Struggling with doubt, he kept hoping and praying, wrestling with contradictions to create a role model that – des
After touring the land of Israel, an early Zionist delegation proposed resettling European Jews not just in agricultural colonies but in cities. A pioneer group from Jaffa agreed to pave the way in Gaza, writing a new chapter in the turbule
Though viewed today as an outmoded evil, slavery was part of medieval Jewish life in Arab lands. Somewhat surprisingly, slaves owned by Jews were considered semi-Jewish; having entered the Jewish people through this “back door,” how did the
Among Jews in the Ottoman Middle East, birth took place in the mother’s home, where close friends and family assisted in an evolving social and spiritual experience. This safe, female space was seminal in women’s lives
Prior to effective medical techniques, amulets were a trusted method of protecting believers at their most vulnerable. To keep newborns and their motheres safe, Jews drew on prayers, incantations, and legends of creation as well as angels a
François-Auguste Biard is best known for his vivid paintings of distant lands and cultures. Born in Lyon, France, in 1799, Biard set out to join the clergy but soon discovered his calling as an artist. After studying at the École des Beaux-
The Monastery of the Cross sparked storytellers’ imaginations, generating fantastic tales of lost Temple treasures hidden beneath its floors
Temple Treasures
A Jerusalem folktale relates that five hun
By the By
Rustaveli’s immortal Knight in the Panther Skin tells of Tariel, a forlorn knight in love with the king of India’s beautiful daughter. Sadly, the lovelorn lady’s father condemns the match and betroths her to another, setting her a
