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Early modern period

In Good Spirits – Jews and Alcohol

Shalom Boguslavsky

It’s no coincidence that a “l’chaim” is a key feature of every eastern European Jewish tale. Why were Jews the region’s primary manufacturers, traders, and even servers of alcohol – and how did it shape...

ArticlesEarly modern periodIssue 63 | December 2022Ukraine

Clothed in Kindness – Clothing Sabbath

Levi Cooper and Itai Cooper

Teaser: The Jews who dominated Thessaloniki’s garment industry celebrated Hanukka by displaying their best wares – and by ensuring the community’s schoolboys were well clothed for winter. This worthy example spread far and wide Levi...

ArticlesEarly modern periodGreeceHanukkahIssue 75 | December 2025Rabbis

Portrait of a People | Tower of Power

Naomi Samuel

Naomi Samuel The Tower of BabelOil on wood panel114 x 155 cmBrussels, 1563Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Pieter Bruegel the Elder1525-1569 Northern RenaissanceA 16th-century movement in which artists north of the Alps adopted and adapted the techniques...

ArtBelgiumColumnsEarly modern periodIssue 65 | June 2023

Body & Soul – Ottoman Jewish Midwifery

Tali Buskila

Among Jews in the Ottoman Middle East, birth took place in the mother’s home, where close friends and family assisted in an evolving social and spiritual experience. This safe, female space was seminal in women’s...

ArticlesAsiaEarly modern periodIssue 70 | September 2024Jewish CommunitiesLifecycle

Magic Texts

Chen Avizohar-Hagay

Back to the article Birth Rite – Birthing Amulets Psalm of Afflictions The Talmud (Shevuot 15b) calls Psalm 91 and the preceding verse “the song of afflictions” and claims it can ward off demons....

Early modern periodIssue 70 | September 2024LifecycleMiddle East

An Amulet Explained

Chen Avizohar-Hagay

Back to the article Birth Rite – Birthing Amulets Photo: Zohar Shemesh, Israel Museum Collection, Jerusalem Each amulet in this set is dominated by a drawing of an animal-shaped angel topped by the name of...

Early modern periodIssue 70 | September 2024LifecycleMiddle East

Birth Rite – Birthing Amulets

Chen Avizohar-Hagay

Prior to effective medical techniques, amulets were a trusted method of protecting believers at their most vulnerable. To keep newborns and their motheres safe, Jews drew on prayers, incantations, and legends of creation as well...

ArticlesEarly modern periodIssue 70 | September 2024LifecycleMiddle East

From the Archives | Cradle to Grave

Yochai Ben-Ghedalia

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...

ColumnsEarly modern periodGermanyIssue 70 | September 2024Lifecycle

Feeding the Heavens – Jewish Birdfeeding Customs

Yossi Ziv

Both Polish and Ethiopian Jews traditionally fed birds at specific times of year, ascribing deep meaning to this practice. Did the custom spread from south to north with the migratory flocks, or was it simply...

ArticlesEarly modern periodEthiopiaGermanyIssue 71 | December 2024Jewish CommunitiesTu Bishvat

From the Archives | A Bonfire of Vanities

Hadassah Assouline

A sentence in the concluding prayer of every synagogue service infuriated Christians as an anti-Christian slur aimed at their messiah. An imperial decree wiped the offending words from the prayer books of Ashkenaz Hadassah Assouline...

ColumnsEarly modern periodGermanyIssue 10 | April 2012

Book Review | Pleasant are their Names

Elka Weber

Tell me your name and I’ll tell you where you come from. The origins and significance of Jewish names is a fast developing field of research, a rare window opening onto a world long-thought left...

Book ReviewsColumnsEarly modern periodIssue 10 | April 2012

Early modern period

In Good Spirits – Jews and Alcohol

Clothed in Kindness – Clothing Sabbath

Portrait of a People | Tower of Power

Body & Soul – Ottoman Jewish Midwifery

Magic Texts

An Amulet Explained

Birth Rite – Birthing Amulets

From the Archives | Cradle to Grave

Feeding the Heavens – Jewish Birdfeeding Customs

From the Archives | A Bonfire of Vanities

Book Review | Pleasant are their Names

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Early modern period

In Good Spirits – Jews and Alcohol

Clothed in Kindness – Clothing Sabbath

Portrait of a People | Tower of Power

Body & Soul – Ottoman Jewish Midwifery

Magic Texts

An Amulet Explained

Birth Rite – Birthing Amulets

From the Archives | Cradle to Grave

Feeding the Heavens – Jewish Birdfeeding Customs

From the Archives | A Bonfire of Vanities

Book Review | Pleasant are their Names

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