A Business Secret, Isidore Kaufmann, oil on canvas, 1917
In Good Spirits
How did bartending become the most popular Jewish occupation in 18th-century Ukraine? Grain surpluses, landowners’ greed, and cross-border ties between Jewish communities combined to ensure that the region’s coveted alcohol concessions typically went to Jews //
Shalom Boguslavsky
Forever Young
Bratslav Hasidism warns its adherents never to become old – at least in spirit; Rebbe Nahman, the sect’s irreplaceable leader, forged a spiritual path out of
childhood traits. Trust, joy, and novelty, already evident in his youthful anecdotes, still underpin his followers’ faith
// Roni Barlev
The Avenger
Was he a simple watchmaker, a Bolshevik agent, or a Jewish zealot bent on revenge? Shalom Schwarzbard’s murder trial pitted myriads of Jews butchered in Ukraine against Symon Petliura, the patriotic leader who’d sacrificed their lives to achieve Ukrainian independence
// Moriya Ta’asan Michaeli
Prelude to Babi Yar
Whether Red, White, or Black troops held the upper hand, the victors wreaked vengeance on Ukraine’s defenseless
Jews. After four years of wanton violence reinforced by White propaganda, the locals developed a killing addiction – fed by Nazi aggression a few decades later
// Jeffrey Veidlinger
A World in Words
The summer before Germany invaded Poland, S. Y. Agnon published a critical yet nostalgic novella recreating his hometown. The people, odors, light, and shade of
Buczacz infuse much of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s work. But why did he memorialize a town not yet
destroyed? // Michal Shir-el
Tale of a Trail
Why did Herod bury his architectural masterpiece and final resting place,
and who discovered it? The lone memorial to King Herod – Herodium \\ Sara Jo Ben Zvi
Columns
Snapshots
This Month in History – Tevet
Brief History – Jews in Ukraine
Voices of the Past – S. Y. Agnon
Portrait of a People – Meir Gur Arieh
What’s Next