27Zionist with Cello // Yemima Hovav
What place was there for music, let alone an orchestra, amid the Zionist practicalities of state-building? For internationally renowned cellist Thelma Yellin and the young musicians she nurtured in Jerusalem, the question struck a chord
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The Crypto-Jews of Belmonte // Lior Alperovitz
Centuries after the Inquisition, the Jews of Belmonte still kept their Jewish practices hidden. As far as these crypto-Jews were concerned, their secret way of life was authentic Judaism, whereas the public ritual of other Jewish communities was a sham
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By the Rivers of Babylon // Tehilla Bigman
The Diaspora was never again as centralized as it was from the sixth to eleventh centuries, when exilarchs of direct Davidic descent and heads of powerful Torah academies – backed by the mighty Abbasid caliphate – held the Jewish world in sway. What brought this golden age to an end?
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Mar Zutra’s Revolt // Geoffrey Herman
A tale of miracles, monarchy, and misfortune, the legend of Mar Zutra brought the Talmudic period to a close. Was he a socialist rebel or a brave defender of family values? Or is the whole story simply a satire?
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Book Review
Days of Ticho: Empire, Mandate, Medicine and Art in the Holy Land, David Reifler // Gil Zohar
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Exhibition Review
By the Rivers of Babylon at the Bible Lands Museum // Shirley Graetz
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Tale of a Trail
Jericho // Tamar Hayardeni
When were Jews last in Jericho? Our first destination off the beaten track, city of palms, springs, and palaces
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