This 94-year-old Holocaust survivor recommended arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders
Much has been said about Amal Clooney's role on the ICC's panel on war crimes, but less attention has been paid to Theodor Meron
Much has been said about Amal Clooney's role on the ICC's panel on war crimes, but less attention has been paid to Theodor Meron
Rabbi Shragi Gestetner was born to make music. He started composing when he was 12. He sold his first song at 18. His debut album, Shragee, pulsates with the joy of a man who has found his calling. The year after it came out, Tablet called Gestetner one of the “rising talents of the current…
Editor’s note: Dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews were killed in a stampede on April 29, 2021, while celebrating Lag B’Omer in the city of Meron in northern Israel. As details of the horrific incident are still unfolding, we are republishing this 2017 article with background on the festival. What is Lag B’Omer? Lag B’Omer is one…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Sephardi Jews often complain that Ashkenazim dominate Jewish culture to the point that they are losing aspects of their own cultural identity. The way one studies in a typical Yeshiva, the type of food eaten in honor of the Sabbath, the music, the men’s clothing, everything symbolizing…
Marking the 33rd day since the beginning of Passover (this year on May 22), Lag B’Omer is a less of a holiday than a mystical occasion to party. In Meron, right outside of the northern Israeli city of Safed, an annual gigantic celebration called Hillula takes place. Safed is famous for the medieval kabbalists who…
Praying by the graves of long-deceased holy men is a time-honored Jewish practice, especially on the recent holiday of Lag b’Omer, when thousands flock to the resting place of R’ Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron. But what about kohanim, who are not allowed to come into contact with the dead, or even enter a cemetery?…
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