The only mentions of a sukkah in the Cairo Genizah refer to communal sukkot in synagogue courtyards. A fact that caused quite a bit of trouble.
In 1600, three scholars from completely different worlds met in the “New Venice” castle outside Prague. The meeting lasted three weeks and resulted in a Hebrew astronomy book, as well as in a lesson about the unifying power of love for the sciences and the quest for knowledge
Kabbalistic literature looked for ancient symbols through which it could express its daring innovations. It found such a symbol in the Menorah…
A glimpse into how artists across the ages have tried to depict the undepictable events at Mt. Sinai…
“If God gave me the power to build a collection with little money, who am I to sell it?”
The sages of Safed created amulets, the Jews of Italy wrote prayers and other Jews warned of less conventional plagues…
The first Hebrew translation of the famous work El Conciliador also served as the translator’s own personal diary
A first glimpse into a few fascinating documents that reveal the life of the Afghan-Jewish communities during the 11th-13th centuries
From a rare Jewish-Italian manuscript: An outraged letter from the Jews of Ferrara to the Inquisition authorities requesting they stop censoring their printed books.
Boys in antiquity were taught to read and write – this we know. But were girls their brothers’ peers? What about their mothers?
