A group of rabbis and representatives of Jewish organizations headed to Tunisia last week to meet with the local Jewish community and with government officials. Invited by the Tunisian government, the group included members...

In the city of Tirupati on top of a hill sits the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, one of the pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Early in the morning, pilgrims begin climbing the steep hill on which...

Ela Verzub and I initially connect via email. She sends me her phone number and we schedule an interview. We are seven time zones apart and we plan to speak during her night, my...

Around the year 1630, Rav Pinchas Hariri of Baghdad wrote to Mosul, Kurdistan, asking that they send a rabbinical authority to Baghdad. The letter was addressed to the director of the Mosul yeshivah. She...

From My Vantage Point “When is your flight scheduled to leave?” the gentleman sitting on the barstool opposite me asks. “Saturday night,” I tell him, “3:45 in the morning.” He looks down and shakes his head. I...

If you were living in Europe in 1870 and you had a halachic question, which rav would you have sent the question to? You might have chosen Rav Yaakov Ettlinger, the rav of the...

In May 2016, a group of dazed but ecstatic Yemenite Jews arrived in Israel after a long trip that was the culmination of over two years of planning. Among their possessions was a very...

"Let me ask you a question,” says Yochanan.“Which countries in the world have the largest populations?” “China and India,” I reply. “Correct. So can you explain why China and India, with a combined population of almost...

I turn off Brook Road in Lakewood onto Old Brook Road, where a landmark yellow sign marks the entrance to E. J. Schuster’s Discount Office Furniture & Poultry Farm. I’ve driven down Brook Road...

Crust 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 cups flour, plus a bit extra for surface 11 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small cubes ½ cup ice-cold water Filling 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 shallot, chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 8 ounces B’gan Frozen...