The historical information in this essay is mostly culled from Bill Bryson’s book on human anatomy and physiology, The Body. For most of human history, scratching your arm on a rusty nail could be a death sentence. The scratch wasn’t the…
For most people, the rule of thumb is to stick to what you’re good at. But there are those rare individuals who can’t seem to stick to anything and are good at everything. Joseph Paxton was one of those people,…
Tomorrow night is Yom Kippur, and Jews the world over will be standing in Shul begging Hashem to forgive their sins. If one has tentatively received a negative judgment on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, if properly observed, can repeal it.…
It was hot, I was trapped, and it was getting hotter. I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seatfor a few minutes, and then I unbuckled myself and starting moving around my littleprison. Inevitably, as a normal seven-year-old, I soon found myself…
Moskva, Moskva, Moskva… The 900-year-old city sitting astride the Moskva River, with its torturous and at times glorious history, is now the most populated city in Europe. The capital of the largest country in the world, it is the cultural,…
Rosh Hashanah II תשפ"ו The Mishna in Rosh Hashanah (1:2) teaches us that Rosh Hashanah is the day of Judgment for all mankind: (ב) בְּאַרְבָּעָה פְרָקִים הָעוֹלָם נִדּוֹן ... בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה כָּל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם עוֹבְרִין לְפָנָיו כִּבְנֵי מָרוֹן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים…
Rosh Hashanah תשפ"ו Two weeks from tonight we will celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment for every human being. The Mishnah in Tractate Rosh Hashanah teaches us (1:2): (ב) בְּאַרְבָּעָה פְרָקִים הָעוֹלָם נִדּוֹן ... בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה כָּל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם…
We crossed into Egypt at the Taba Border Crossing around midnight. I was exhausted, dirty, and bone weary after two utterly crazy days in Jordan, but I trudged up to passport control with resigned indifference. If it were up to…
“Good fences make good neighbors,” goes the saying.[*] Visible and clearly defined boundaries and limitations make it easy to respect the property of others. People run into trouble only when it is unclear to them where their domain ends…
Bigger is not always better. Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever on record, would surely tell you that. He was born on Feb. 22nd, 1918 to Addie and Harold Wadlow of Alton, Illinois at a normal weight of eight pounds,…