The relationship between modernity and Judaism is perhaps the central question that Jews have struggled with and debated over the past 250 years.…
Kazinczy, Dohany, Rumbach. For the average Hungarian these are street names in the heart of Budapest. For Jews these are names of three of the most…
Jews first settled in Hungary in the 13th century, settling mainly in the city of Buda. In 1526 the Ottoman Empire occupied Hungary and as result…
The city of Toledo sits some 75 kilometres to the south of Madrid, the capital of Spain. It is a most picturesque and charming city, perched on a…
If 1148 marks the end of the Golden Age of Spain, the beginning of the end of Spanish Jewry as a whole begins in 1391. By that time the Christians…
Jews lived in Spain for a very, very long time, possibly from as early as Biblical times. The first recorded evidence of Jewish life in Spain dates…
I have long had an interest in Jewish history, finding it inspiring and illuminating to be part of a people who go back 4,000 years, who have lived…
Portugal is one of the few countries in Europe in which no Jews were deported during World War ll. The only Portuguese Jews to be killed in the…
The ancient town of Belmonte is nestled in the mountains of Portugal, with breathtaking views and beautifully cobblestoned streets steeped in history…
When one thinks of recent world powers, it is unlikely many would think of Portugal. But had we lived 500 years ago our thinking would be very…
I last travelled abroad in February 2020 to visit our daughter studying in Israel. Arriving back in Toronto I smiled upon seeing the signs to let…
Visiting Morocco leaves one with both a sense of hope and of despair. The sense of despair does not refer to the decline of Jewish community,…
The city of Marrakech was, for many years, home to the largest Jewish population in Morocco. Today it has two functioning shuls: one in the …
“Eizo asheer? Hasameach bechelko, Who is wealthy? One who is happy with his lot”. It is often hard for many of us raised in the…
Outside of the world of the yeshiva, it’s a safe bet to assume that most who study Talmud do so as part of the Daf Yomi cycle. This…
“With fidelity to its irreversible choice to construct a democratic State of Law, the Kingdom of Morocco…having as its bases the…
As I sit on the plane, having just spent ten glorious days in Greece, let me share some final thoughts of our wonderful trip. Greece is a…
Something that one might be fairly certain will never appear in a shul, no matter where it is or what the denomination, is a cross. Well, almost…
As one enters the beautiful Yad Lezikaron shul in Salonica, one notices plaques on the wall. But unlike in most shuls, these are not yahrzeit plaques…
One of the beautiful experiences in travelling around the Jewish world is seeing the richness and diversity of Jewish life. I imagine not many on…
“Ma rabu ma’asecha Hashem, how beautiful are Your creations, G-d!” After travelling in Greece for a couple of days, one understands…
Philosophy, mathematics, democracy, the Olympics, architecture, libraries, trial by jury, mythology, and the alphabet are just some of the…
Often when we think of Frankfurt we think of Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch. And for good reason. He almost single handedly is responsible…
Moving along the Rhine from Mainz one arrives in Worms. Along with Mainz and Speyer Worms is one of the Kehilot Shum, the three great centres of…
The relationship between modernity and Judaism is perhaps the central question that Jews have struggled with and debated over the past 250 years.…
Kazinczy, Dohany, Rumbach. For the average Hungarian these are street names in the heart of Budapest. For Jews these are names of three of the most…
Jews first settled in Hungary in the 13th century, settling mainly in the city of Buda. In 1526 the Ottoman Empire occupied Hungary and as result…
The city of Toledo sits some 75 kilometres to the south of Madrid, the capital of Spain. It is a most picturesque and charming city, perched on a…
If 1148 marks the end of the Golden Age of Spain, the beginning of the end of Spanish Jewry as a whole begins in 1391. By that time the Christians…
Jews lived in Spain for a very, very long time, possibly from as early as Biblical times. The first recorded evidence of Jewish life in Spain dates…
I have long had an interest in Jewish history, finding it inspiring and illuminating to be part of a people who go back 4,000 years, who have lived…
Portugal is one of the few countries in Europe in which no Jews were deported during World War ll. The only Portuguese Jews to be killed in the…
The ancient town of Belmonte is nestled in the mountains of Portugal, with breathtaking views and beautifully cobblestoned streets steeped in history…
When one thinks of recent world powers, it is unlikely many would think of Portugal. But had we lived 500 years ago our thinking would be very…
I last travelled abroad in February 2020 to visit our daughter studying in Israel. Arriving back in Toronto I smiled upon seeing the signs to let…
Visiting Morocco leaves one with both a sense of hope and of despair. The sense of despair does not refer to the decline of Jewish community,…
The city of Marrakech was, for many years, home to the largest Jewish population in Morocco. Today it has two functioning shuls: one in the …
“Eizo asheer? Hasameach bechelko, Who is wealthy? One who is happy with his lot”. It is often hard for many of us raised in the…
Outside of the world of the yeshiva, it’s a safe bet to assume that most who study Talmud do so as part of the Daf Yomi cycle. This…
“With fidelity to its irreversible choice to construct a democratic State of Law, the Kingdom of Morocco…having as its bases the…
As I sit on the plane, having just spent ten glorious days in Greece, let me share some final thoughts of our wonderful trip. Greece is a…
Something that one might be fairly certain will never appear in a shul, no matter where it is or what the denomination, is a cross. Well, almost…
As one enters the beautiful Yad Lezikaron shul in Salonica, one notices plaques on the wall. But unlike in most shuls, these are not yahrzeit plaques…
One of the beautiful experiences in travelling around the Jewish world is seeing the richness and diversity of Jewish life. I imagine not many on…
“Ma rabu ma’asecha Hashem, how beautiful are Your creations, G-d!” After travelling in Greece for a couple of days, one understands…
Philosophy, mathematics, democracy, the Olympics, architecture, libraries, trial by jury, mythology, and the alphabet are just some of the…
Often when we think of Frankfurt we think of Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch. And for good reason. He almost single handedly is responsible…
Moving along the Rhine from Mainz one arrives in Worms. Along with Mainz and Speyer Worms is one of the Kehilot Shum, the three great centres of…