She was the first queen of Judah, yet few know her story. And those who do often view her with contempt. Was our first queen truly a murderer of infants, or was she a strong woman unjustly vilified by history?
The Story of a Nation That Redeems Its Captives
From Abraham who saved his nephew from captivity, to IDF helicopters carrying Israeli hostages back from Gaza – for thousands of years, Jews have fought, paid any sum necessary, and even endangered their lives to redeem and save their brethren from captivity and imprisonment
Jerusalem: City of Lepers?
For thousands of years, leprosy was one of the world’s most feared diseases | Jerusalem’s “Hansen House” is known as the city’s legendary leper asylum, but a look back through time reveals a longstanding relationship between the city and the illness | On Jerusalem: city of holiness and leprosy
The Hebrew Manuscript That Dared to Depict God
We decided to examine the manuscript that boldly violated the explicit commandment: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness”
Ruth the Moabite: The Most Beautiful Woman You’ve Never Seen
The Book of Ruth is an extraordinary biblical story. At its center is the brave friendship between two women that leads to the founding of the Davidic dynasty, and a heroine whose character traits made her an everlasting symbol of beauty
Why Does Elijah Visit Us on the Eve of Passover?
The story of how the most zealous of the biblical prophets ended up becoming everyone’s most anticipated Passover dinner guest
A Peek into Paradise: What Can Medieval Manuscripts Teach Us about Adam and Eve?
Was the serpent originally a form of ape? What fruit did the first sinners eat? And how does Lilith figure into the story? These intriguing questions have stirred the imaginations of illustrators of Hebrew manuscripts throughout history
A Half-Angel, Half-Demon Named Azazel and His Connection to Yom Kippur
What are the strange biblical origins of the term “scapegoat”? And what does it have to do with the Jewish Day of Atonement?
Drawing Moses… From the Sublime to the Ridiculous
A glimpse into how artists across the ages have tried to depict the undepictable events at Mt. Sinai…
Introducing Naamah, the “Mother of All Demons”
How the biblical figure of Naamah evolved into a terrifying demon that rises from the depths of the sea to seduce the men of the world
