Message sent to ‘The Holy Ari’ reflects his influence at the time, outside the mystical realm
How does Israel honor Tu B’Shvat – the Jewish Arbor Day – in a year when planting is forbidden? Through celebration, education – and the occasional workaround.
On the eve of World War I, a group of Polish yeshiva students signed a pact to make their friendship everlasting…
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 only mentions of a sukkah in the Cairo Genizah refer to communal sukkot in synagogue courtyards. A fact that caused quite a bit of trouble.
In 1600, three scholars from completely different worlds met in the “New Venice” castle outside Prague. The meeting lasted three weeks and resulted in a Hebrew astronomy book, as well as in a lesson about the unifying power of love for the sciences and the quest for knowledge
Kabbalistic literature looked for ancient symbols through which it could express its daring innovations. It found such a symbol in the Menorah…
A glimpse into how artists across the ages have tried to depict the undepictable events at Mt. Sinai…
“If God gave me the power to build a collection with little money, who am I to sell it?”
The sages of Safed created amulets, the Jews of Italy wrote prayers and other Jews warned of less conventional plagues…
