The Forward

Martyrology

2008-12-31T15:42:00

A poem by Rabbi Jacob Staub, who is professor of Jewish philosophy and spirituality at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Art, Truth, Beauty in Schapiro’s Letters

2008-12-31T15:45:00

The much-beloved art historian Meyer Schapiro (1904–1996), born in Šiauliai, Lithuania, immigrated with his family to New York when he was a toddler. In his decades of varied research, on subjects from Romanesque art to Picasso, from Hiberno-Saxon illuminated manuscripts to Cézanne, Schapiro achieved an uncannily personalized view of each artist — and also captured his sense of each as a person.

The Return of Menachem Mendel

2008-12-31T15:48:00

In a period of economic hardship, such as the one our country has entered, I find myself turning to Sholom Aleichem for consolation. His characters, particularly Tevye the Dairyman and hapless stock investor Menachem Mendel, suffer serious financial losses in Sholom Aleichem’s stories. But the author responds to their condition with great humor, and provides readers with a sense that this, too — the losses and trials of hard times — will pass, although right now they have returned in new form.

Two Minority Reports From 1948

2008-12-31T15:57:00

For better or for worse, the shadows of 1948 still hang over half the world as reminders of what was and harbingers of what will be, but these shadows are always half-glimpsed. Two recently published translations of memoirs by legendary Israeli political figures solidify some of the shadows for English speakers.

Painter of the Caribbean

2008-12-31T15:59:00

Jewish families who trace their roots back to England, Spain, Portugal and beyond have distinguished themselves for generations as merchants and financiers in the Caribbean. Reminders of the contributions they have made to the varied cultures and societies of the region can be found in the graveyards and in postcolonial, national archives of what are now its many small, independent countries.