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Even in the past, some thirty to forty years ago, when Jewish life in Russia was still very conservative, there was a difference between those cities and towns located…
[ . . . ] After the intractable insolence shown by Süss when his sentence was pronounced, he was fettered cross-wise in the Chamber of Nobles, where he was to be confined until execution, and kept…
There is a matter well known and widely publicized among all those who have come through the gates of our city, Constantinople [Istanbul], may God preserve it. . . . [I]t occurred about two years…
And after the rabbi [Joseph Karo] went to Safed he studied in the study house of the rabbi, our master, Jacob Berab, and became a disciple of our master R. Berab, as is written in several places. The…
The Birth of the Ba‘al Shem Tov
One of the greatest phenomena, running like a thread throughout the spiritual history of the Jewish people, is mysticism, a remnant of ancient mythology, which could…
Our master, the holy rabbi, told a tale of the Ba‘al Shem Tov (may his memory be for a blessing to the life of the world to come!). There was once a matter involving great danger to the human life of…
Some decades ago Jewish badkhonim-actors [jesters] were still a very common phenomenon. Most of the time the badkhn was not only an entertainer improvising rhymes and funny sayings, but also an actor…
One of the most important things that the government has introduced in Russia to improve education among Jews is the decree that each community must choose a…
Behold I request of all standing at the gate to knock,
And he who wishes to enter deep within this composition of mine,
Let him understand and be wise and contemplate the introduction I have composed…
[To the tune of “Adir ayom ve-nora.”]Come, dear friends, let us cry and lamentThe horrible things that have happened in these times.In the year that Messiah was expected amid tribulation [1648],Cossa…