The Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha (continued…). By Rony Akrich

The Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha continued… By Rony Akrich

In a scroll of psalms from Qumran a number of additional compositions have been discovered, thus increasing the corpus of already known texts. They also helped to understand a literary genre – the Last Psalms – which happens to be misrepresented in the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. These pious poems give a deep insight into … Read more

Hanukkah spinning top. By Rony Akrich

Hanukkah spinning top By Rony Akrich

The “dreidel” (Yiddish) or “sevivon” (Hebrew) is perhaps the most famous custom associated with Hanukkah. Indeed, various rabbis have tried to find an integral connection between the “dreidel” and the Hanukkah story.. The Standard Explanation corresponds to letters “nun, gimmel, hey, shin”which appear on the “dreidel”; in Diaspora, they mean “ ness gadol haya sham” … Read more