Jewish Life Around the World

Matt Adler smiles at the camera while wearing backpack and taking a selfie in front of an Israeli desert setting

Building Bridges Through Language and Culture: A Gay Jew Discovers Israel in Arabic

By

Chris Harrison

Matt Adler, who speaks eight languages, detailed his experiences living in Israel in his new book. We spoke to him about his life in Israel and how his intersecting identities impacted his time there.

Woman standing on a balcony overlooking the Western Wall and Jerusalem

18 Tourist Destinations in Israel: A Guide for Travelers

If you’ll be in Israel this summer, consider adding some of these cultural, religious, historical, and natural sites to your itinerary.

A hand atop a printed copy of the Torah as if sight reading

Fighting for Global Jewish Communities of Color and the Right to Make Aliyah

By

Anat Hoffman

What do the Abayudaya community of Uganda, the “Jews of the Amazon” of Peru, and the Adat Israel community of Guatemala have in common? They began as “emerging” Jewish communities.

Flattened dough with circular holes cut into it as if making cookies

Icelandic Jewish Cookies: A Dessert with a Fascinating Story to Tell

By

Rachel Ringler (JTA)

Are the cookies Icelandic? Canadian? Dutch? Or Danish? No matter where you find them, the name is the same, hearkening back to a Jewish presence and the Jewish bakers who created them.

Cantor Laura Stein and Rabbi Sandy Bogin lead Shabbat worship services behind a loudspeaker

The Power of Shabbat, Even Over the Loudspeaker

By

Cantor Laura Stein, LMSW

Even as structure and routine begin to crumble, ritual observances don’t stop for the virus. As did many generations of Jews before us, we must adapt ritual to this unprecedented way of life, and Shabbat services, a mainstay for nursing home residents, necessitated creative adaptation.