With minimal space and honoring Jewish law, Jerusalem authorities have been preparing a modern-day cave of catacombs to provide burial space for the dead. The city’s main cemetery situated on a hilltop, Har Hamenuhot, has reached capacity at almost a quarter million graves, and beginning this October, will start to utilize the underground space. Workers…
On her 104th birthday, Shoshana Ovitz had one wish for all of her children, grandchildren and descendants to meet at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. About 400 family members showed up to celebrate, fulfilled her birthday request. Ovitz survived the Holocaust, specifically Auschwitz, and suffered the loss of her family, witnessing her mother being taken…
Av is known as the month in the Jewish calendar when “our joy is diminished.” It all started 2,000 years ago, on the ninth of Av, marked as Tisha B’Av, when the Jewish temple was destroyed. Only 600 years later, the second temple was destroyed, on the same day. Since then, Tisha B’Av has seen…
A new nature reserve has been declared in the Mitzpe Ramon area, a southern point in the Negev, known for its desert lands and its naturally formed craters. Home to five craters, the two most well-known are the Ramon Crater and the Big Crater. In a recent decision, the Small Crater, or the third largest,…
Imagine standing on the bottom of Mount Sinai, about 3,300 years ago. Moses had just come from a brainstorm session with God, a hackathon for humanity, and was finally ready to present his power points in front of a select group of chosen people. An ecstatic energy must have danced through the air. Only seven…
