For 44 years, Yehuda Katz’s suitcase remained in a dormitory closet at the Kerem B’Yavneh Yeshiva. Here is the story of the student who left to fight in the First Lebanon War and fell in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub – and of the library that kept his memory alive until he was finally laid to rest in Israel.
The Birth of the American Jewish Book
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, we set out on a journey through the books that accompanied the growth of American Jewry – from small communities that depended on volumes shipped from Europe, to a bible translated into the language of Native American tribes, the earliest books printed in Hebrew in America, and the emergence of one of the world’s major centers of Jewish publishing.
The Blecherovitz File: The Anti-Theft Measure That Helped Unravel a Holocaust Family Tragedy
Copyright protection or detective’s clue? The story of an odd signature, left in a book, which revealed an entire family history – and the one daughter who survived to tell it.
From Belarus to Shanghai: The Mir Yeshiva’s Journey of Survival
The extraordinary story of hundreds of yeshiva students who crossed Russia by train, sailed to Japan, and reunited in Shanghai. A story of enduring faith, of a library rebuilt under impossible conditions, and of a journey that helped shape the future of the yeshiva world.
Divorce, Excommunication and Politics: The Drama Behind the First Hebrew Book Printed in England
What began as a secret divorce document composed for an unfortunate gambler turned into a fierce clash of egos among the wealthy leaders of London’s 18th-century Jewish community. Social ostracism and a ban of excommunication imposed on the eve of the holidays forced the sides to take their battle to the printed page, resulting in the first Hebrew book ever published by the Jews of England.
Sherlock Holmes and the High Priest’s Breastplate
When Sherlock Holmes met the Maharal of Prague: How did a well-known rabbi in the early 20th century “convert” an Arthur Conan Doyle detective story and present it as an ancient manuscript discovered in an imaginary library?
The Lost Train: The Story of the Transport That Never Reached Theresienstadt
A 139-year-old book acquired by the National Library contained a unique and unexpected keepsake from a victim of the Nazis in the Netherlands. Who was Vroutje Bloemist? Why did her story suddenly attract our attention decades after her death? And what became of the Nazis’ “Lost Train,” aboard which Bloemist was a passenger?
Did It Exist or Not? The Missing Order of the Jerusalem Talmud
Discoveries and disappointments, rumors and accusations, fraudsters and conspiracies—along with an adventurous journey across the dusty roads of Turkey. This is the story of a controversy that shook the world of Torah study and academic research 120 years ago.
From Hitler’s Beer Hall to the National Library in Jerusalem
In the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, a large number of Jewish books were discovered by the Jewish Brigade in a famous Munich beer hall considered to be the cradle of Nazism. How did the books end up there? And after they were discovered, where did some of them disappear to?
Did He Write It or Not? The Mystery of the Torah Scroll Attributed to the Ran
This centuries-old Torah scroll underwent many travails, changing not only its geographical location multiple times but also its identity and history. “Everything depends on luck, even a Torah scroll in the Holy Ark,” says the Zohar. It seems this Torah scroll did not have the best of luck.
