Vayetze -A Working Woman
King Solomon describes the ideal woman in his acrostic poem ‘Eshet Hayil (Proverbs 31:10).’ His female model, though, may come as a bit of a surprise. He describes her as a working woman, labouring […]
King Solomon describes the ideal woman in his acrostic poem ‘Eshet Hayil (Proverbs 31:10).’ His female model, though, may come as a bit of a surprise. He describes her as a working woman, labouring […]
In all of the recent fanfare surrounding the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London (2-5 September), I didn’t hear any mention of Jews. That’s for good reason. Jews […]
Amsterdam’s Portuguese Esnoga (Synagogue) was inaugurated on Shabbat Nahamu, August, 1675. Four men contributed the largest amounts towards the Esnoga’s construction. Among them was Isaac de Pinto. He was born […]
The Expulsion from Spain is said to have occurred on the 9th of Ab. While it may have actually transpired a couple of days beforehand, the association is still apt. […]
Bordeaux is one of those Spanish and Portuguese communities that I’d heard about but had never quite understood how it fit in amongst the rest of Western Sephardim. That is […]
In terms of Portuguese Jewry Bayonne is somewhat of a misnomer. The Jewish community was actually based on the other side of the Adour River in what is called St Esprit (where […]
Basque Country is a unique and fascinating region. It preserves its own language – not like any other, though it straddles both sides of the French-Spanish border. Located just west […]
I used to think of the significance of Torah portion of Ki Tisa as being about the sin of the Golden Calf, and of how the people turned away from […]
Whilst visiting Portugal this past summer, I was given a gift. It appeared to be a dreidel, though I was told that it was actually a Rapa, a Portuguese top […]
The practice of newborn male circumcision is synonymous with Jews and Judaism. The Torah records that the commandment of this procedure was first directed at Abraham and his family. Since […]