Purim

'Where Traditions Meet': The inside story of Israeli baseball's rise from nonexistent to Olympics

Peter Kurz recounts the improbable journey of Israel’s baseball team to the Tokyo Olympics, sharing behind-the-scenes stories, challenges, and personal triumphs.

Peter Kurz wears his Israel baseball shirt with pride.
A view shows a town nestled in a valley seen near Jerusalem in April in 2026.

What's Israel’s role in Judaism? Zionists' duty is to know - opinion

On Wednesday night, we will talk about freedom, with the specter of ballistic missiles, safe rooms, and red-alert sirens still fresh in our minds.

Freedom under fire: What Passover means in a time of war - comment

Ultra-Orthodox Jews celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim in the ultra-orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem on March 4, 2026.

Jewish tradition is a polemic against loneliness, on Passover and the rest of the year


Purim 2026: Ancient Persia offers lessons of prayer, unity, and courage

From ancient Persia to today, Purim shows how prayer, unity, and courage shape Jewish history and identity.

Let us see what is behind the masquerade.

Purim 2026: Turn Purim mess into order with simple home-organizing tricks

Transform your home from chaotic to calm this Purim with expert organizing tips and quick nightly resets.

Chaos of Purim.

Mordechai’s Persian asthma test and modern-day Iran - opinion

Today, as we await a preemptive strike by America on Iran, many people are asking, “Why provoke a sleeping lion?” The Megillah gives us the answer.

The world's largest aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) arrives in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, December 1, 2025.

The true star of Purim: Shortcrust pastry that turns into a perfect poppy seed cake

Ahead of Purim, shortcrust pastry takes center stage in the kitchen. Turn it into a simple, delicious poppy seed cake that disappears fast, with a filling you can swap for any flavor you like.

Poppy Seed Cake Made with Shortcrust Pastry.

At this Dallas synagogue, Purim comes with fog machines, zip lines and Broadway flair

Rabbi Adam Roffman has transformed the traditional Purim spiel at Dallas’s Shearith Israel into a high-octane theatrical event, blending his Broadway background with spiritual community building.

Clergy of Congregation Shearith Israel in Texas perform the annual Purim spiel on March 1, 2026.

Netanyahu's 2015 Congress speech: A blueprint for action, not a failure - analysis

Netanyahu's 2015 Congress speech on Iran now seems prescient as Israel and the US strike Iran, highlighting a growing partisan divide over Israel in America.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015.

A Purim party in a shelter: Minnie Mouse and songs amid ballistic missiles

Imagine your children being awakened after the bath-story-bedtime routine, not by street noise like a passing ambulance, but by sirens announcing that missiles were hurtling towards you.

A person in a Minnie Mouse costume entertains guests at a Purim party in a bomb shelter in Israel, March 2, 2026.

Israeli rabbis urge Jews to limit alcohol consumption on Purim due to Iran war

Israel’s chief rabbis urged controlled alcohol consumption, while the IDF Military Rabbinate ordered a complete ban on wine and other alcoholic beverages for soldiers.

 Assorted bottles of alcoholic beverages.

The Tomb of Mordechai and Esther: Iran's Jewish, Purim heritage

According to the tradition of the Jews of Persia, after Haman’s downfall, hostility toward the Jews intensified, and Mordechai and Esther left Shushan and wandered north, to the city of Hamadan.

THE MAUSOLEUM containing the tombs of Esther and Mordechai, Hamadan, Iran.

Grapevine March 1, 2026: Women in the spotlight

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

TALIA EILAT with her 2026 Peres Center Medal of Distinction and certificate.