News
How a song about the food chain became a Seder mainstay
18+ hour, 37+ min ago (833+ words) By PJ Grisar April 3, 2026 I'm almost positive I heard about the old lady who swallowed a fly before the father who bought a goat for two zuzim. The Seder tune "Chad Gadya," which involves a quite similar conceit, has no…...
The stories of Passover and Pittsburgh share a common humanity
2+ day, 18+ hour ago (465+ words) At the heart of the Passover story is an act of courage that feels both ancient and urgent. Before the plagues, before the parting of the Red Sea, a man named Moses made a brave choice. Saved and raised by…...
Israel closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and set off a Holy Week firestorm
2+ day, 17+ hour ago (766+ words) By Mira Fox April 1, 2026 Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week for Christians, the lead-up to Easter, when Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Usually, it's observed in large services with liturgical readings, where palm leaves are…...
Seder subway stunt rolls Passover out in public — but watch that matzo ball soup
2+ day, 19+ hour ago (688+ words) By Hannah Feuer April 1, 2026 It was one of those only-in-New-York moments: Roughly 60 Jews packed into a muggy subway car, grape juice sloshing with every bump, preparing to hold a Passover Seder on the ride from Union Square to the Bronx....
For Passover, an interactive map brings the haggadah down to earth
3+ day, 16+ hour ago (1393+ words) Alon Gildoni, left, and Ron Milo are the creators of "Haggadah on the Map," which traces the Israelites" journey as recounted in the Passover story. (Courtesy Alon Gildoni) (JTA) " In 2024, as Alon Gildoni and his brother-in-law, Ron Milo, prepared for…...
Scallion fights, soft matzo and other Passover traditions live on around the world
3+ day, 16+ hour ago (1089+ words) By Simone Saidmehr March 31, 2026 Indian Jews smear animal blood on their doors. Ethiopian Jews gorge on chickpeas. Iraqis dump wine after the meal. And matzo might be soft and squishy, depending on where in the world the recipe hails from....
Passover's 4 cups of meaning
3+ day, 23+ hour ago (606+ words) Contributing Columnist Jay Michaelson March 31, 2026 What if the answer to the "Meaning Crisis" is sitting right in front of us, around our Passover tables? There are at least two meanings of "Meaning" in this context. This is also a literal…...
Netanyahu orders Church of the Holy Sepulchre open after Palm Sunday closure flares tensions
5+ day, 29+ min ago (720+ words) (JTA) " Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered that the top Catholic clergy in Israel be allowed into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ahead of Easter, in an attempt to calm tensions that flared after police blocked their access....
Mamdani to attend Passover Seder as he navigates ties with Jewish groups and amid rising antisemitism
5+ day, 16+ hour ago (572+ words) By Jacob Kornbluh March 29, 2026 New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is set to attend a Passover Seder on Monday night at the City Winery in Manhattan, stepping into a decades-old cultural tradition that doubles as a symbolic test of his…...
America’s oldest synagogue closed. Then an unlikely group tended its cemetery.
5+ day, 22+ hour ago (561+ words) By Austin Albanese March 29, 2026 In 1833, Herald of the Times, a Newport, Rhode Island, newspaper, reported that the remains of Mrs. Rebecca Lopez had been brought from New York by steamboat and placed inside Touro Synagogue. After prayers were read by…...