A Short History of Little Words
It’s hard to escape the OMGs and LOLs of today, but don’t blame millennials—acronyms actually originated thousands of years ago with the development of the ancient Hebrew alphabet. Around the 10th century BCE, Hebrew letters emerged out of ideographic pictures and, soon after, groups of letters started to be used in place of frequently recurring words.
Strangers In Their Own Land
The end of the long civil war between Tamil and Buddhist forces promised peace. Instead, Buddhist nationalists found a new enemy: their Muslim neighbors.
The Thermometer Interview: Anetta Kahane
Spotlight: Germany. Temperature: 60 degrees.
September/October 2017
Profile
Simon Schama Steals the Show
The effusive British historian and master storyteller returns for part two of the history of the Jewish people.
by Liam Hoare
Daniel...
This Holiday Season, Our ‘Ask the Rabbis’ Editor Looks Back
With the High Holidays on the horizon—and with the current political climate in mind—we asked our “Ask the Rabbis” editor to reflect on some of her favorite pieces of rabbinical wisdom.
A Jewish Artist in Post-Dreyfus Paris
When the 22-year-old Italian Jewish artist Amedeo Modigliani arrived in Paris in 1906, his health was already compromised. He had suffered childhood bouts of pleurisy, had nearly died of typhoid fever at age 11 and had been diagnosed with tuberculosis at 16. In his first years in the City of Light, which was rife with anti-Semitism in the wake of the Dreyfus Affair...
Ask The Rabbis | What Is the Most Important High Holidays Prayer?
An especially insightful prayer is Hayom Harat Olam, said after the shofar is blown at the Rosh Hashanah Musaf (afternoon) service: “Today the world is conceived.” It’s a liturgical call to stay open to the pregnant possibilities in this world.
This Yom Kippur, an Alphabet of Transgressions
On the High Holy Days, we confess to offenses ranging from A for “arrogance” to Z for “zeal for bad causes.” The message is clear: We make mistakes beginning with every letter of the alphabet.
Sephardi Jews Need Genetic Testing, Too
For the Jewish community, perhaps the biggest success story in genetic testing is Tay-Sachs: The disease is carried by one in 27 Ashkenazi Jews (who come from Eastern Europe), and nearly always has been fatal. Today, among Ashkenazi Jewish populations, it has been almost entirely eradicated.
The BRCA2 Male Minority
Matt Diamond is a 39-year-old financial planner whose sister happens to be an amateur genealogist. After creating a family tree for a school homework assignment, she was hooked and spent the next 25 years digging into her family’s Ashkenazi roots. In 2014, she sent a saliva sample to a genetic testing company, hoping to find more family members through their DNA database. She was shocked when the test identified her as a carrier for the BRCA2 mutation, a fact later confirmed by her medical doctor.
A Daughter of a Male BRCA2 Carrier
Michelle Wilson was dealt an unexpected hand: Her father had breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, the lifetime risk for men is one in 1,000. In 2006, Michelle’s father reached for his seatbelt and felt an excruciating pain through his arm and left breast. At 52, he was diagnosed with stage 3C breast cancer
The Role of a Genetic Counselor
I truly believe in the old adage that “knowledge is power.” When a couple finds that one or both carries a genetic mutation, this will likely change their perspective on family planning. Although this information might be hard to swallow, in my experience couples are happy that they are empowered with information that makes it possible to make sound decisions about their future.