An Ultra-Orthodox man reading the Talmud on the subway from Underground NY Public Library. The photo blog is a project of acclaimed street photographer, Ourit Ben-Haim. In an interview, Ben-Haim said that when she takes a photograph of someone reading…
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Yitzhak Shamir, 96, Passes Away
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir passed away on Saturday night at age 96. Yitzhak Shamir (Jeziernicky) was born in Rozhinoy, Belarus, October 15, 1915. He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Beitar,…
Top Ten Signs You Are a Very Patriotic Hebrew
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
10. When the National Anthem comes on, your take off your kippah 9. Consider the Davey Crockett hat the American version of the streiml 8. Kiddush wine choices: red, white or blue (mascoto dasti) 7. The Mitzvah Tank is actually…
Before The Deluge: Jews Of The Mediterranean Islands (Part II) – Crete
by Ezra James Nollet • • 0 Comments
Crete In biblical times this island was known as Kaftor. It had close relations with the Philistines, who already swelled in the Land of Canaan when the Jews migrated in, and this Kaftorland is conceivably the Philistine homeland. This cultural…
Abusive Breslov Sub-Cult Found in Jerusalem, Tiberias
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
If you think Breslov is a cult, wait till you hear this! Ha’aretz a while ago reported an abusive sub-cult in Israel. Nine members were arrested when it was found that they sexually abused, enslaved, and raped female cult members…
Before The Deluge: Jews Of The Mediterranean Islands – Cyprus
by Ezra James Nollet • • 0 Comments
The stories in this column are translations by Mr. Nollet fromDie Juden In Der Welt (The Jews in the World) by Mark Wischnitzer, a long out-of-print book published more than seven decades ago in Germany.The book examines Jewish communities, one country at a…
My Experience at Doctor Laffa
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Yum! That’s what I have to say about Doctor Laffa after dining there yesterday everning. BlogTO calls it the best Shawarma in Toronto. While I haven’t eaten at too many other Shawarma places in Toronto, such as, for example, Ba Li Lafa which just opened…
Sparkle for me Rebbi! Chabad Rabbi sues over getting used as a model
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
A Chabad man, Rabbi Kaplun Elyashiv, discovered his picture on Landwer, a Cafe chain, website and Facebook page. In a NIS 1 million lawsuit, he claimed that the image used without his approval or knowledge. He claimed it happened in…
BEFORE THE DELUGE: THE JEWS OF THE PRE-HOLOCAUST WORLD
by Ezra James Nollet • • 0 Comments
The stories in this essay are translations from an old German-language book, and I think it useful to state at the outset how that book came into my possession. A number of years ago, when I lived in Boston, I…
Rabbi Akiva and 24,000 Students – Was He a Gilgul of Zimri?
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
The Seder HaDoros (“R’ Akiva”-#11) cites the Eimek HaMelech and the Chesed L’Avraham (see also the Rama MiPhano’s Gilgulei Neshamos (“Kazbi”)) that R’ Akiva was a gilgul of Zimri, the nassi from the tribe of Shimon who was killed by…