Home > Issues > Issue 72 | March 2025

Issue 72 | March 2025

Articles

Seder Under Siege – Seder in Jerusalem 1948

Moshe Ehrnvald

As the sun set on the British Mandate and rose over the new State of Israel, civil war raged between Arabs and Jews. Jerusalem’s hundred thousand Jewish residents prepared to celebrate Pesach under siege, unsure whether they were headed for

Seeking The Hidden Face Of God – Hillel Zeitlin

Shraga Bar-On

Though he saw the Jewish people as trapped in a fatal, dead-end existence, writer Hillel Zeitlin labored to bring redemption. Struggling with doubt, he kept hoping and praying, wrestling with contradictions to create a role model that – des

Loving Zion From Gaza – Pioneers in Gaza

Ido Yisraeli

After touring the land of Israel, an early Zionist delegation proposed resettling European Jews not just in agricultural colonies but in cities. A pioneer group from Jaffa agreed to pave the way in Gaza, writing a new chapter in the turbule

Judaism’s Service Entrance – Freed Slaves

Moshe Yagur

Though viewed today as an outmoded evil, slavery was part of medieval Jewish life in Arab lands. Somewhat surprisingly, slaves owned by Jews were considered semi-Jewish; having entered the Jewish people through this “back door,” how did the

Columns

Portrait of a People | Chilling Testimony

Naomi Samuel

Naomi Samuel The Slave TradeOil on canvas162 x 229 cmParis, circa 1840Wilberforce House Museum,Hull, En

Tale of a trail | Monastery of the Cross

Tamar HaYardeni

In a picturesque valley dividing Israel’s parliament and government offices from Jerusalem’s ritzier areas, an ancient monastery nestles within a small nature reserve. Traces of hidden treasure, desperate struggle, and daring heroes are sai