From the Archives | Prophecy or Plan?
In the early 1960s, a young teacher named Adin Steinsaltz gave a lecture envisioning a Hasidic revival in Israel. Today, his words seem prophetic – but they were simply a personal plan of action Yochai...
Yochai Ben-Ghedalia
Dr. Yochai Ben-Ghedalia, Director of CAHJP and an expert on European philanthropy in 19th-century Jewish Jerusalem
From the Archives | Too Much of a Good Thing
Jews have always prayed for rain, but those in northern Italy suffered from too much rather than too little, inspiring prayers for protection from flooding Yochai Ben-Ghedalia The Mishnaic tractate Ta’anit (Fasting) devotes extensive space...
From the Archives | From Morocco to Amsterdam
The memoir of an anonymous scholar features miracles, mishaps, and multiple wives as his thirst for Jewish learning drives him from home Yochai Ben-Ghedalia Highly Respected Professor, This copy, which I made in my student...
From the Archives | Cradle to Grave
When did countries begin maintaining birth and death registries, and how does the lack of earlier data limit genealogical research? Yochai Ben-Ghedalia Shortly after a child is born, usually even before he’s named, the hospital...
From the Archives | With Thanks from Damascus
Not only community leaders suffered interrogation and humiliation in the Damascus Affair – so did their wives. Their letter of thanks recently came to light Yochai Ben-Ghedalia On February 5, 1840, Father Thomas, a Capuchin monk...
From the Archives | The Wedding That Wasn’t
Certification that a husband and wife are both in fact single? This was a peculiarly Orthodox method of fighting British restrictions on immigration to Palestine Yochai Ben-Ghedalia One might suppose that a local rabbinate’s archives,...
