Jewish history

From Alpine adventures to deep history: Exploring Slovakia’s high tatras

Awe-inspiring majesty of High Tatras and Europe’s culture capital showcase wonders of Slovakia.

|ByMARK GORDON, DAVID ZEV HARRIS
The stunning newly-active Neolog synagogue in Trencin.
An Israel Air Force fighter jet seen in central Israel amid the ongoing war between Israel-US and Iran, March 18, 2026.

Our refuge: War, loss, and faith are shaping Israel’s shared story - opinion

When you live through wars, they change you. They become something you survive as a heroic community. Every single citizen.

|BySHERRI MANDELL
Iranians watch fireworks during the Wednesday Fire feast, or Chaharshanbe Suri, held annually on the last Wednesday eve before the Spring holiday of Nowruz, in Tehran, on March 18, 2025.

The earth does not choose sides: when nature tries to outlast war - opinion

A deeper look into the region's languages and cultures reveals that, beneath political disputes, words and customs emerge from the same conceptual womb.

|ByBENYAMIN YAKOVIAN
Joshua’s Altar on Mount Ebal, situated outside of Israeli territory, is under threat of being erased by new construction plans.

Israel abandoned its heritage under Oslo - now it's paying the price - opinion

UNESCO battles, abandoned sites, and a renewed national plan force Israel to confront its responsibility to Jewish heritage

|ByMOSHE GUTMAN

This week in Jewish history: Haganah formed in Israel, Google acquires Waze

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

JUNE 19, 2025BySTEVEN DRUCKER
THE WAZE app came out in 2013 (hence, the older-model smartphone pictured)

A Name Worthy of Gratitude

Why “Donald” should join “Alexander” as a name of honor in Jewish history

JUNE 17, 2025ByEDUARD SHYFRIN
US President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025.

Shavuot 2025: Why do we group Jewish holidays together?

By adding Purim to the duo of Passover and Shavuot, this trio reminds us that hiddenness is not static. It is dynamic.

JUNE 2, 2025ByMICHAEL M. COHEN
PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG attends a ‘Book of Esther’ reading wearing a protective mask, at the Ahavat Tzion synagogue in Beit Shemesh in 2022. ‘God is hiding His face, and we are experiencing a world in which it seems that God is absent,’ says the writer.

Shavuot in 1948: Harvesting the first fruits of Israeli statehood under siege

It was the collision of Israel’s past with its present and future. The offerings may have been meager. The dairy dishes improvised. But the spirit was resolute.

JUNE 2, 2025ByALEX WINSTON
SHAVUOT, ONE of the three pilgrimage festivals, marked the wheat harvest in biblical Israel. It concludes the seven-week period beginning at Passover

Reaccepting the Torah: Looking back the first Shavuot after the fall of Nazi Germany

For many Holocaust survivors, May 18, 1945 was the first Shavuot they were able to celebrate after years of war.

JUNE 2, 2025ByYAEL HALFON
AMERICAN CHAPLAIN Rabbi Herschel Schacter conducts religious services at the liberated Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945

Shavuot's mystical incident: Uncovering the secrets of King David’s Tomb

“We have conclusive evidence that Kings David, King Solomon, and King Hezkiyahu are all buried on Har Zion,” one rabbi told The Jerusalem Post.

JUNE 1, 2025ByYESHARA GOLD
PEOPLE PRAYING at King David's Tomb

'The Jews, 5,000 Years and Counting:' Jewish history can be funny - review

The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting achieves an incredible feat: It covers our entire “epic journey through time, space, and guilt” in 224 pages.

JUNE 1, 2025ByABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
BEN-GURION AIRPORT security, Terminal 1, during the COVID-19 pandemic

This week in Jewish history: Shavuot, and the Six Day War

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

MAY 31, 2025BySTEVEN DRUCKER
DAVID RUBINGER’S iconic photo of the IDF paratroopers at the Kotel during the Six Day War in 1967.

14th century Shem Tov Bible comes home to Jerusalem

The Shem Tov Bible, a stunning 14th-century manuscript created by the renowned kabbalist Rabbi Shem Tov ben Abraham Ibn Gaon, will be displayed in the National Library of Israel.

MAY 28, 2025ByJOANIE MARGULIES
Presentation of the Shem Tov Bible at the National Library of Israel.

The matriarchal language: Ladino singer Nani Vazana on her rise to fame

Nani Vazana explained that Ladino, not just in her personal story, is the matriarchal language.

MAY 25, 2025ByBASIA MONKA
NANI VAZANA: Restoring traditions