circa 1945: A portrait of American writer Edna Ferber (1887 - 1968) crossing her arms. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Edna Ferber Revisited

The first-generation Jewish American novelist exposed entrenched prejudices of her day. A reissue of The Girls introduces her wit to new readers.
The new moon

How Does the Jewish Calendar Work?

The complicated system that determines the High Holy Days is a relatively new creation, dating to around 350 CE.
Circus Amok's Jenny Romaine by David Shankbone, New York City

How Queer Jews Reclaimed Yiddish

Queer Yiddishkeit challenges the notion that Yiddish is inherently heteronormative or conservative.
T.S. Eliot and Groucho Marx

All Male Cats Are Named Tom: Or, the Uneasy Symbiosis between T. S. Eliot and Groucho Marx

Class and religious differences, among other factors, thwarted the would-be friendship between two cultural titans, suggesting opposites attract, but may not adhere.
JSTOR Daily Friday Reads

A New Novel Explores Art Theft, History, and Child Refugees

Ellen Umansky's novel The Fortunate Ones explores the psychological fallout of the World War II Kindertransport, which moved child refugees to England.
Indian Haggadah

High Holy Days in Mumbai

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are the "High Holy Days" of the Jewish calendar. 
Kindness and politics

The Politics of Kindness in 2016

Kindness matters. It’s just that our politicians have their own reasons for their own kind behavior.
Schauenstein Camp

Europe’s Displaced Persons After World War II

For the survivors who passed through displaced persons camps in Germany alone, their time in the camps was a chance to reestablish their identities as Jews.