Zionist History by Numbers – Israeli Immigration
The waves of Jewish immigration to land of Israel in the 19th and early 20th centuries are known as the First Aliya, the Second, and so on. But did these numbers always mean what they...
Hizky Shoham
Prof. Hizky Shoham, Lectures in Bar-Ilan University’s Program for Hermeneutics and Culture. Research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Author of A Moving Feast: The Bar and Bat Mitzvah across Jewish Cultures (De Gruyter, 2024)
Cooking Up Independence – Barbecues on Israel Independence Day
In the State of Israel’s the formative years, its education minister called for a haggada to mark Independence Day, and the Histadrut’s Folk Dance Department envisioned mass horas. Much to the chagrin of the country’s...
Bar Mitzvas Coming of Age – Bar Mitzva
Thirteenth birthdays haven’t always been cause for Jewish celebration. When were the first bar and bat mitzva ceremonies, and why their enduring appeal even among otherwise unaffiliated Jews? Hizky Shoham Why celebrate bar and bat...
