Home > Issues

Issues

Births of a Nation – Jewish Birth Rate in Mandate Palestine

Lilach Rosenberg-Fridman

Thanks to its high birth rate, Israel is one of the West’s only growing societies. Under the British Mandate, however, the Zionist campaign for large Jewish families largely flopped. What factors outweighed the urgent demographic...

ArticlesIssue 70 | September 2024Land of IsraelPre-state of IsraelZionism

Dancing to Bar Yohai’s Tomb – Meron Pilgrimage

Dotan Goren

Over the centuries, Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai’s grave on Mount Meron has drawn pilgrims in increasing numbers, peaking with both celebrations and controversy on the anniversary of his death. The pre-state procession of musicians and...

20th centuryArticlesHistoric Walks in IsraelIssue 64 | March 2023Lag B'OmerLand of Israel

The Unspoken Taboo – Next Year in Jerusalem

Jonathan D. Sarna

What prompted a century of American Jews to omit the phrase “Next year in Jerusalem” at the conclusion of their Seder? The aspirations and declarations replacing it speak volumes about American Jewish loyalties, priorities, and...

19th centuryAmericaArticlesIssue 64 | March 2023Jewish CommunitiesPesach

Watchdog of Israel

Chana Shacham-Rosby

Back to the article Waiting for Elijah – Elijah in the Haggadah The connection between Elijah and canines begins in the Talmud: “Our rabbis taught: When dogs howl, [it’s a sign that] the Angel of...

EuropeIssue 64 | March 2023Medieval PeriodPesach

Waiting for Elijah – Elijah in the Haggadah

Chana Shacham-Rosby

When the Pesach Seder took shape almost two thousand years ago, it made no mention of Elijah the prophet. How did the biblical zealot find his way into the haggadah? Medieval Ashkenazic traditions may hold...

ArticlesEuropeIssue 64 | March 2023Medieval PeriodPesach

Evangelical Prophet of Zion – William Hechler

Yehuda Moraly

Who would have guessed that the man who crops up most frequently in Theodor Herzl’s diaries was an Evangelical pastor? William Hechler’s religious fervor led him to Zionism, which in turn inspired him to place...

19th centuryArticlesEuropeIssue 64 | March 2023

Rembrandt’s Rabbi

Bryna Levy

Back to the article The Hope of Israel – Menasseh Ben Israel Bryna Levy The Dutch artist Rembrandt von Rijn was not only a contemporary of Menasseh (1606-1669) but his neighbor, living on the same...

ArtEarly modern periodIssue 1 | April 2010Netherlands

The Skeptics

Henry Goldblum

Back to the article The Hope of Israel – Menasseh Ben Israel Despite its atmosphere of perceived religious tolerance, Amsterdam, or “The New Jerusalem,” had its limits. It made room for heretics, but managed to...

Early modern periodIssue 1 | April 2010NetherlandsWriters

Caesar’s Footprints

Henry Goldblum

Back to the article That Galilee Affair – Julius Caesar In the second half of the first century BCE, Judea played host to some of the ancient world’s greatest celebrities. Cleopatra and Mark Antony left...

AntiquityGeneralsIssue 26 | May 2015Land of Israel

Were American Indians the Ten Lost Tribes

Yoav Sorek

Back to the article The Hope of Israel – Menasseh Ben Israel The idea that the American Indians were the Ten Lost Tribes was the natural result of the extrapolation of concepts entrenched in the...

AmericaEarly modern periodIssue 1 | April 2010

That Galilee Affair – Julius Caesar

Henry Goldblum

Was the fate of Judea as a Roman province sealed from the moment Julius Caesar switched sides in the Hasmonean leadership struggle? Or could Herod’s brutal path to kingship still have been blocked? Either way,...

AntiquityArticlesGeneralsIssue 26 | May 2015Land of Israel

Issues

Births of a Nation – Jewish Birth Rate in Mandate Palestine

Dancing to Bar Yohai’s Tomb – Meron Pilgrimage