All Articles Byיהוסף יעבץ

A small figure clad in red ascended the stairs, flanked by two hooded executioners. Despite signs of torture, he paused on each step to shout in a hoarse voice, "Hashem is God," a total of 52 times.

When the second stamp reached his hands, the collector tore it to pieces and, to be sure, burned the fragments. Now the stamp he owned became the only one in the world, and its value skyrocketed to over a million dollars.

The Romaniote Jewish community is one of the oldest yet least known. Tragically, most of its members perished during the Holocaust, leaving this ancient community largely unfamiliar.

Explore why ancient sages considered the communal bathhouse a place of great risk and the special blessings they instituted for it.

Discover how King Ptolemy gathered seventy Jewish elders in Alexandria to translate a sacred text. Eager for precision, he isolated each elder to prevent shared versions.

Maimonides, a pivotal figure in Jewish philosophy, faced fierce opposition for his revolutionary ideas about the nature of Hashem. He asserted that Hashem has no physical form, a view that clashed with traditional interpretations at the time. This led to a spirited debate among Jewish scholars.

Sometimes, parting with jewelry wasn't about mitzvahs, but rather necessity—paying taxes. Our ancestors in the Diaspora faced constant taxes, each time under a new pretext. Just as they earned a few coins, a new order demanded yet another tax.

The Torah mentions woven gold threads along with hammered gold. How were these threads created?

During a special prayer, the entire Jewish community of Metz gathered closely in the synagogue. Suddenly, amidst the emotional rendition by the cantor, a loud noise echoed "as if a great building was collapsing."

Peer review can obscure biases, hiding selective, arbitrary, and subjective decisions. Censorship harms the public's right to accurate information and reduces trust in science.

The so-called messenger from Israel turned out to be a con artist, exploiting the name of the well-known false messiah Sabbatai Zevi, who was not yet recognized for who he truly was, as multitudes followed him.

Picture Rabbi Shabtai leading the Shabbat melodies, with Prague’s most esteemed joining in, three centuries ago. But what if you could actually hear it today?

Professor Olaf Gerhard Tichsen regularly attended the lectures of Rabbi Jonathan Eibeschütz in Altona. After years of study, he was awarded a "Friend" certificate by the yeshiva. It was likely given out of fear of the monarchy, yet it remains intriguing.

About 300 years ago, a letter from Constantinople reached Jerusalem, detailing fashion do's and don'ts for Jews. What prompted this letter and who was behind it?

In a time when Jewish communities lacked consistent institutions and rules for handling communal funds, fascinating regulations were documented to ensure transparency and trust.

Explore fascinating house dedications in Jewish history, from the First Temple to the lavish "Zichron Menachem" synagogue.

We're all familiar with the renowned story of Choni HaMa'agal and his miraculous prayer for rain after a severe drought. However, could it be that Choni was murdered? If so, by whom and when?

Hidden beneath the soil of the Temple Mount are treasures and remnants from the ancient Temple services. Years ago, a significant find—a small, round 'beka' weight inscribed with Hebrew letters—excited archaeologists.

Around 350 years ago, a young Jewish girl kept an autobiographical historical diary describing her life from childhood in the Jewish communities where she lived. Her writings vividly capture Jewish community life in Western Europe, offering a fascinating historical perspective on the events of that era.

After leaving the rabbinical court, the widow Nechama declined offers from matchmakers, insisting she felt her husband was still alive. When asked if she doubted the esteemed Rabbi Heshel, she couldn't provide a clear answer but refused to remarry.