Two Jews, Three Opinions examines a unique educational movement that began in 1980 when eight school leaders met to create RAVSAK: the Jewish Community Day School Network, an association of schools distinguished by being inclusive of all Jews in their communities. This singularly-purposed segment of the Jewish educational mosaic has not been studied before. As American Jews struggle with changing demographics and identities, it is instructive to...

Outlines of Jewish History from B.C. 586 to C.E. 1885 by Lady Katie Magnus provides readers with a comprehensive overview of Jewish history spanning from ancient times to the late 19th century. In this illuminating work, Lady Katie Magnus delves into the rich tapestry of Jewish civilization, tracing its origins from the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C. to the developments of the modern era in 1885 C.E. Through meticulous research and engaging...

When a boy and his mother spend the night in the sukkah and it begins to rain, she gently reassures her son that the sukkah will protect them just as it did for their ancestors when they left Egypt.

"That night I just remember running. No time to catch your breath, just running, because you want to be gone from the village before the sun comes up." -Avishai Mekonen, 400 MILES TO FREEDOM. In 1984, the Beta Israel, a secluded 2,500-year-old community of observant Jews in the northern Ethiopian mountains, fled a dictatorship and began a secret and dangerous journey of escape. Co-director Avishai Mekonen, then 10 years old, was among them. In this...

At Yad Vashem, the Berlin brushmaker Otto Weidt is listed as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. But Weidt’s story has otherwise been overlooked until now. A Blind Hero finally brings the story of his daring and cunning rescue of his blind and deaf Jewish employees from being sent to the camps as well as his tragic love of Alice Licht, and his desperate journey to save her and her entire family from the gas chamber, all while he himself was...

In The Jewish Confederates, Robert N. Rosen introduces readers to the community of Southern Jews of the 1860s, revealing the remarkable breadth of Southern Jewry's participation in the war and their commitment to the Confederacy. Intrigued by the apparent irony of their story, Rosen weaves a complex chronicle that outlines how Southern Jews-many of them recently arrived immigrants from Bavaria, Prussia, Hungary, and Russia who had fled European revolutions...

Like the haggadah, the traditional story of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt read at the Passover seder, cinema offers a valuable text from which to gain an understanding of the social, political, and cultural realities of Jews in America. In an industry strongly influenced by Jewish filmmakers, the complex, evolving nature of the American Jewish condition has had considerable impact on American cinema and, in particular, on how Jews are reflected...

In ancient Judaism, there was little distinction between religion and politics. In this lecture, explore the importance of the law (the Torah) in the Jewish religion. Then, draw some intriguing connections between the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai and Jesus’s own Sermon on the Mount..

In the first half of this lecture, examine the growing anarchy that led to the First Jewish Revolt against Rome—including the rise of others who, like Jesus, claimed to be the messiah. Then, follow the story (as related by Josephus) of the trial and execution of Jesus’s brother, James the Just..

Alexander the Great’s legendary visit to Jerusalem and Judea had a profound influence on the development of ancient Jewish traditions. Could the ancient warrior also have served as a model for the mythical Jesus? Professor Magness illuminates possible narrative parallels between these two iconic figures of Western history..