Jewish Geography

Noah speaks softly, kindly, like an old friend, though we’ve never met before. Her words are interrupted every now and then, as she graciously greets the women who drop in to warm themselves with a hot cup of tea, a slice of kosher cake and the coziness of a Jewish home.

The moment they got off the airplane, a heavy snowfall began. They thought it was a blizzard, but it was just their first small taste of winter in Siberia.

Personal blog and photographs document renewed Jewish faith and tradition in 21st century Europe.

A few days before Pesach 2011, I was part of a group of 30 yeshivah students who arrived at JFK Airport en route to Ukraine.

The Jews of Iran have an incredibly long history that begins over 2,400 years ago and continues through today . . .

On the morning of October 4, 1998, a determined Rabbi Shalom Greenberg woke up with only one thought on his mind—building a sukkah. He did not expect to get arrested, but that is nearly what happened...

Before the war, there were more than 100 prayer houses and 60 synagogues and the Jewish population hovered around 200,000. More than 65,000 Jews perished, and today the Main or Central synagogue is the only historical synagogue remaining...and yet there are kosher restaurants, four Jewish schools, and you can get any products needed to live a Jewish life...

I wondered who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, and the eclectic group at the Greenberg's Friday night table answered my question. People just like you and me.

The overall population of Cancun is approximately 450,000. There are an estimated 500 Jews representing 150 families living there and they are a diverse group.

Jews have always been travelers; but no Jew ventured as far as Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman. The tall, graying, gentle professor of Aerospace Engineering left the planet, and ventured into space.

I arrived at the Chabad House in Munich and its co-director Chanie Diskin's apartment on Thursday morning to the distinctive smell of gefilte fish simmering on the stove.

Call me stubborn. Call me contrary. But I refuse to believe that there is anywhere in the world without a site or two of Jewish interest...

I was looking forward to what promised to be a new and fascinating experience. And Dnepropetrovsk isn't just any European city—it is the city where the Rebbe spent much of his childhood...

You don't think. You run. You have twenty seconds.

Join Chana Weisberg on a speaking tour through Europe. Five countries and eight cities in seven days--and passing through several more en route.

The first Jews to arrive were about 1,000 convicts, who landed on the Aussie shores between 1788 and 1852. Few of them were violent, and most were shoemakers, tailors, watchmakers, grooms, ostrich-feather manufacturers, silk-glove makers...

Our group of twelve had come to Tanzania to tackle Mt. Meru, an extinct volcano that rises some 15,000 feet into the deep-blue African sky. We began this trip as individuals – but were to return as a single unit...

"It's Sunday, and the cemetery is closed. The man who has the key is out of town." The rabbi paused for a moment and looked at me, "Would you be willing to jump the wall?"

Climbing up Masada at dawn? Breathtaking. Placing notes between the cracks of the Kotel? Uplifting. Taking your family on a trek through the Jewish homeland? Priceless.

Finally, we were there! Amid a cluster of small buildings, the door of the bus opened and a man greeted us with a warm smile. It was Rabbi Danny Cohen, Chabad emissary to Hebron, who serves the soldiers with a strong yet gentle presence...

Today there are about 25,000 Jews remaining in Poland. Some of the older Jews are passing on, and before they go, they tell their families for the first time that they are Jewish...

Late Friday afternoon, the sun begins to set behind the San Francisco Bay…

Once upon a time, what I loved most about traveling was enjoying the local delicacies with abandon. For years after we became observant, traveling involved such huge sacrifices of pleasure and convenience that it almost wasn’t worth the effort.

The 5,000 Jews left in the country couldn’t get out, even with passports, and needed written permission just to travel from city to city.