Jewish history

Remembering Rabbi Berel Wein: A beloved Jewish storyteller - opinion

Working side by side with Rabbi Wein to reimagine his book ‘Triumph of Survival’ - and the insights that stayed with me.

|ByALAN ROSENBAUM
RABBI BEREL WEIN, z”l, director, The Destiny Foundation; with Ashley Lazarus, film director, Destiny Films.
ON A SYNAGOGUE in Victoria, British Columbia, slogans, earlier this month, include: ‘Jews are evil! Stop genocide, stop the Jews!’ Violent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions have reached pandemic proportions, says the writer.

What if there were no Jewish Diaspora? - opinion

Some claim that a strong Jewish Diaspora is an important adjunct to a Jewish state, since Diaspora Jews can lobby their governments.

|ByJACOB SIVAK
'Israel stands as a rare example of a nation unashamed of its identity as an ethnic state – a country with a story.'

A nation and a story: Israel claims its destiny without shame - opinion

We must never shrink from our story. We are both a people and a faith, bound together across time, building a state grounded in both.

|ByMOSHE TARAGIN
FLORENCE SYNAGOGUE

Tuscany through Jewish eyes: A journey of history, beauty, and flavor

Our travels revealed not only Tuscany’s breathtaking landscapes and cultural treasures but also the history, resilience, creativity, and enduring identity of its Jewish communities. 

|ByNAHUM SCHNITZER

'Beyond Dispute': The limits of legitimate debate – a Jewish approach - review

Israeli peace negotiator and former ambassador to the UK suggests ways to have more productive conversations. 

AUGUST 17, 2025ByMARION FISCHEL
PRO-PALESTINIAN protesters shout slogans in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens earlier this week during a declared ‘day of rage’ across the country, jeopardizing Israeli tourism to Greece. ‘Peace is made between enemies who are at least open to making peace with each other,’ the author writes.

Memory is our anchor in the unfolding saga of the Jewish people - opinion

Memory is essential – it deepens our experience and helps build our shared identity. In Israel, it is even more vital, reminding us that we are part of a larger, unfolding saga.

AUGUST 10, 2025ByMOSHE TARAGIN
COLLECTIVE MEMORY: Lasting glue

Planting seeds of the Divine: a weekly Torah guide

Smith invites readers to start their “Inner Garden,” which includes planting and cultivating “forty-seven assorted seeds that correspond to forty-seven weekly Torah portions.

AUGUST 3, 2025ByHOWARD BLAS
‘PUNISHMENT OF the Sons of Korach,’ fresco by Sandro Botticelli.

The classroom is still best frontline for Jews to be proud, informed, resilient - opinion

Jewish education is not an afterthought; it is our anchor.

JULY 27, 2025BySIMMY ALLEN
AN ARTICLE dating back to September 1943, from ‘Haboker Leyeladim,’ a children’s Hebrew-language publication, is on display at the National Library of Israel.

The unpromised land: Exile experience cannot be severed from modern Jewish history - opinion

It is crucial not to sever modern Jewish history from the interim, desert experience of the past two thousand years.

JULY 26, 2025ByMOSHE TARAGIN
DESOLATE DESERT landscape: This summary invites us to focus on those 40 years during which the Children of Israel wandered (Illustrative).

This week in Jewish history: Israel and Jordan end state of enmity

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

JULY 26, 2025BySTEVEN DRUCKER
THEN-PRIME MINISTER Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan’s King Hussein shake hands, as then-US president Bill Clinton applauds, at the peace treaty signing ceremony at the border between the two countries, in 1994.

Dr. Yoav Heller on October 7: sexual violence and confronting evil

Dr. Heller: 'This wasn’t just another attack between Israelis and Palestinians. It was an attempt at genocide.'

JULY 24, 2025ByBATSHEVA SHULMAN
IDF soldiers seen in the aftermath of Hamas's Nova music festival massacre in Re'im, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023.

This week in Jewish history: Miracle aids and antibiotics

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

JULY 19, 2025BySTEVEN DRUCKER
THANK YOU, Selman Waksman, for isolating streptomycin.

Parashat Pinchas: Every Jew is torn between hope and history

Moses does not stand alone on Nevo – we stand with him. Together, we gaze toward a future we build but may never fully enter. Together with him, many Jews look toward a land they may never cross.

JULY 18, 2025ByMOSHE TARAGIN
An illustrative image of a man in a robe on a mountaintop with the sun shining.

This week in Jewish history: Moses breaks the Tablets

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

JULY 12, 2025BySTEVEN DRUCKER
Moses is seen breaking the Tablets after coming down from Mount Sinai.

This northern Norway city has adopted a one-of-a-kind approach to observing Shabbat

Located on the outskirts of the Arctic Circle, this Norwegian city has a unique approach to observing Shabbat and a history of handling challenging situations.

JULY 8, 2025ByDAN FELLNER/JTA
The river Nid offers picturesque views in Trondheim, Norway, home to one of the northernmost Jewish communities in the world.