Under a perpetual shadow of death, as train after train was sent to Auschwitz, Viktor Ullmann and Peter Kien, imprisoned in the Theresienstadt Ghetto, composed a searing opera satirizing the awful reality in Europe. Both were murdered, but a suitcase filled with Ullmann’s works survived to tell the story of the human spirit’s triumph over death
Who Wrote These Magical Ancient Jewish Bowls?
Were they men or women, rabbis or sorcerers, legal experts or ignoramuses?
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
Out of the Vault: Incredible Torah Scrolls Revealed
Check out these clips featuring four of the most stunning and interesting Torah scrolls from the National Library of Israel collection
Haircuts on Lag BaOmer: The First Printed Documentation!
A beautiful illustration from a book printed in 1601 for the Jewish community in Venice contains the first-ever printed documentation of the Lag BaOmer holiday haircut tradition
A Haggadic Sister: New Acquisition Illuminates Artist’s Journey
In 2012, artist Maty Grünberg decided to revisit his 1984 work, The Bezalel Haggadah – ranked among the finest modern illustrated Haggadot. The resulting volume, The Sister of the Bezalel Haggadah, reveals the artist’s creative process, from concept to final print.
A Vanishing World: What Will Become of the Yung Yiddish Museum?
The “Yung Yiddish” museum, tucked away inside a massive bus station, is something in between a library and an underground club. Its collections have survived two world wars in Europe. Whether they can survive the disparaging attitude in Israel remains to be seen.
The Forgotten Legacy of a Cantor Who Lost His Voice
Years after Zalman Pollack was a star of the Jewish world, his life’s work was rediscovered…
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
The Unsung Heroine-Artist Who Helped Save Israel’s Wildflowers
From a very young age, Bracha Avigad’s roots connected her to the Land of Israel and its flora
