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Issues 51-100

Articles

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 their lives?// Shalom Boguslavsky Sha

Forever Young – Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav

Roni Barlev

The Bratslav Hasidic tradition reflects a religious devotion at once wholehearted and playful. From Rebbe Nahman’s childhood escapades to his fables and his dancing followers, it’s all about constantly delighting in life anew  Roni Barlev

The Medical Legion – Medicine at Masada

Yonatan Lukimson

Ancient Rome owed its military superiority partly to innovative medical treatment of its soldiers. Fascinating evidence of a well-oiled health care system has been discovered at the site of the besieging Roman army’s field hospital at Masad

Prelude to Babi Yar – Pogroms in Ukraine

Jeffrey Veidlinger

Following World War I, numerous armies tore Ukraine apart. All agreed on only one thing: the region’s greatest scourge was the Jews, who were humiliated, robbed, raped, and murdered – by their neighbors as much as by invading troops Jeffrey

Doctor without Borders – Miriam Duker

Yeshurun Fisher

One of a handful of Jewish women completing medical school despite Russian quotas, Miriam Duker served prestate Israel’s remote communities through thick and thin, extending medical care even to neighboring Arabs Yeshurun Fisher

First among Physicians – Ibn Jumay’

Amir Mazor

Saladin’s personal physician and Maimonides’ friend, Hibat Allah ibn Zayn ibn Jumay‘ left a colorful paper trail of Arabic medical works and fragmentary documents from the Cairo Geniza. Discovering an unsung Jewish hero Amir Mazor

Doctor Plotter – Roderigo Lopez

David Lawrence-Young

Elizabethan England was newly freed from Spanish dominance when Roderigo Lopez found shelter there from the Portuguese Inquisition. This Jewish doctor took grave risks to protect his new queen from Spanish conspirators – or was he in fact a

Who Invited the Rabbi? – Rabbis at Weddings

Ariel Picard

Rabbis have officiated at weddings for centuries, but the Talmud mentions no such practice. So how did Jewish clergy become an integral part of the ceremony? Ariel Picard Many human endeavors begin spontaneously but gradually be

A World in Words – S.Y Agnon

Michal Shir-el

Nobel Prize–winning author Shmuel Yosef Agnon recreated a lost world in his prose. In Hebrew echoing the majesty of the prophets and the clarity of the Mishna, he peeled away nostalgia for the distant shtetl. Yet the pity and longing with w

Columns

Portrait of a People | Rite of Passage

Naomi Samuel

Naomi Samuel Bar Mitzvah Oil on canvas35 x 45 cmParis, 1865 Jacques Émile Édouard Brandon1831-1897 Im

Tale of a Trail | Khirbet Midras

Tamar HaYardeni

Scrambling through the hidden tunnel network of Khirbet Midras takes one back to the claustrophobic perils faced by the Bar Kokhba rebels Tamar HaYardeni Where To? Khirbet Midras Extensive tunnel network from the Bar Kokhba rebe