Inside of Kadavumbagam Synagogue of Mattancherry, Cochin, facing what’s left of the women’s gallery. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) In enormous and populous India, anonymity does not exist. And social or group orientation counts – in a big way. Ironically,…
At the Hands On Children’s Museu, children learn many things, including just how large a bald eagle’s nest is. (photo by Lauren Kramer) Most small Jewish communities decrease in size over the summer, but not Olympia, Wash. The city’s Jewish…
In the winter, the Yellow Submarine hosts a collection of shows, many of them jazz, as part of the International Music Showcase. (photo from itraveljerusalem.com) This article was written several months before the daily terrorist attacks began against Israel. While…
The Confucius temple is a must-see in Beijing. (photo by Thyristorchopper) On Sept. 7, I arrived in Beijing for a 10-month adventure – teaching Hebrew at Peking University. (Yes, this is what it is still called.) Among the many preparations I…
Uri Yoeli, left, at the Elvis Inn, his restaurant/convenience store/gas station in Neve Ilan. (photo by Deborah Fineblum Schabb) To appreciate how much Israelis love Elvis Presley, you just have to hear three generations of the Mizrachi family of Rehovot…
The writer and her husband, Ted Ramsay, hiking along a coastal path near St. Ives. (photo by Karen Ginsberg) A trip this spring to Cornwall in southwest England gave my husband and me the opportunity to experience the unique treasures…
Some of the most stunning sunsets can be seen right from the Pierside Restaurant while eating dinner. (photo by Baila Lazarus) As a realtor with more than two decades of experience, Joel Korn knows the golden rule that location is…
The roof of Sofia’s synagogue. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) Until recently, if someone had asked me what I knew about Bulgaria, I would have said, “Isn’t that the name of a cheese?” Now having visited Bulgaria, I realize how…
The author enjoying a day of folk music from around the world at Israel’s Jacob’s Ladder festival. (photo from Miri Garaway) I have always been a folk music aficionado, so when I heard about the Jacob’s Ladder Music Festival in…
Rabbi Yacob Berezniak in Havana’s Agath Israel synagogue. (photo by Baila Lazarus) On a small side street in Old Havana, an innocuous sign on a decaying wall announces “Synagoga Adath Israel.” A few steps away, on Picota Street, an entrance…
