Queens Hillel Opens New Student Hub
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic allocated $195,000 in state funding to expand Jewish student services and programming across Queens Queens, NY—Queens Hillel has opened a new student hub at 80-15 188th Street in Jamaica, creating a dedicated space for Jewish college students from across the borough. The new center, called Queens Hillel 188th, was supported by $195,000 […]
OUR HERO
TERRORISM An attempted hijacking turned a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv into a life-or-death emergency on September 30, after the Omani co-pilot stabbed and seriously wounded the captain, forcing the plane to divert to Saudi Arabia. Captain Smit Machchhar of India fought off the co-pilot as he allegedly tried to sabotage the plane’s […]
Uzbekistan Strikes A DIFFERENT KIND OF GOLD AT HOME
SPORTS Host nation Uzbekistan captured gold in the Open section of the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, delivering a championship performance before a home crowd and further cementing the country’s remarkable rise as a world chess power. The hosts were dominant throughout, winning 10 of their 11 matches, with their only defeat coming against […]
‘Magnificent Judaica’: Sotheby’s TO AUCTION 550-YEAR-OLD PRAYER BOOK
CULTURE Sotheby’s will offer a rare 15th-century Hebrew prayer book by one of the few Jewish artists of the Middle Ages known by name, as the centerpiece of its Magnificent Judaica sale in New York on December 17, 2026. The illustrated mahzor, a prayer book for the High Holidays and festivals, was created in […]
WHO SHOULD YOUR CHILD BE NAMED AFTER?
TORAH, NAMES, TRADITION AND MODERNITY JEWISH TRADITION Rabbi Baruch Babaev: Rabbis never dictate to parents or require them to give their children specific names! Recently, a strange phenomenon has become increasingly common: parents choosing not to name newborn children after deceased relatives on the husband’s side. Moreover, some parents justify this decision by citing… rabbis. […]
IF BUKHARIAN WALLS COULD TALK: HOW WE CELEBRATED SUKKOT IN CENTRAL ASIA
HERITAGE Walking through Jamaica Estates and Fresh Meadows during Sukkot, surrounded by vibrant sukkah booths in my neighbors’ yards, I am inspired by the powerful statement that building a sukkah conveys: we are here, and our traditions endure. I’m eager to share how our ancestors celebrated Sukkot in Central Asia—a journey revealing our essence, […]
О музее кавказских евреев в Израиле
НАСЛЕДИЕ Есть встречи, которые начинаются с простого знакомства, но очень быстро перерастают в содержательный разговор об истории, людях, памяти и связи поколений. Именно такой стала встреча в Ор-Акиве журналиста из Азербайджана Фуада Хусейнзаде и Павла Елизарова, председателя Всеизраильского объединения евреев – выходцев с Кавказа. Они увиделись впервые, однако вскоре стало ясно, что формальностями дело не […]
High Holidays in Tashkent
UZBEKISTAN As the Jewish community of Tashkent prepared to welcome Sukkot, the High Holidays brought people together in prayer and celebration. Yom Kippur was especially meaningful, says Daniel Isakharov, son of community leader Arkady Isakharov, with community members spending all day together in synagogue. On the first day of Sukkot, they gathered for a festive […]
Building My First Sukkah
REFLECTIONS There are moments that at first seem completely ordinary, but later you understand that they become part of your personal story. For me, such a moment was Sukkot — a holiday that I did not just watch for the first time, but actually built with my own hands. I live in Ashdod — a […]
The Torah Never Ends: Five Books, Five Messages, One New Beginning
D’VAR TORAH There is one remarkable moment every year when a Jew holds the Torah in his arms, dances with it, completes it, and immediately begins it again. Why? Didn’t we just finish? Didn’t we already read the whole Torah? The answer reveals one of the deepest secrets of Jewish life: the Torah is not […]