To the Anti-Semite, Jews Aren’t Just One Problem among Many, but the Source of All Problems
Blood libels, old and new.
October 6, 2022
The Musical and Religious Poetry of Israel of Najara
The author of Yah Ribbon and his many influences.
Born to a Sephardi family in the Galilean city of Safed, Israel of Najara (ca. 1555-1625) spent much of his life in Syria and Gaza, where he worked as both a scribe and a rabbi and built a reputation as a talmudic and biblical scholar. But Israel’s real passion was for poetry, and he composed numerous works of Hebrew verse, all meant to be set to music. His most famous poem, Yah Ribbon (“God the Master”), is often sung at Sabbath meals today. The musicologist Edwin Seroussi discusses Israel of Najara’s life and legacy, and the various musical influences that informed his work. (Video, 34 minutes.)
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Login or SubscribeOctober 6, 2022
American Diplomats Know the Truth about the Palestinian Authority, but Won’t Act on It
Mahmoud Abbas’s rhetoric about a two-state solution is only lip service.
The Two Presidents Who Examined Their Evil Deeds and Turned Away from Them
U.S. Grant, Chester Arthur, and Yom Kippur.
The Musical and Religious Poetry of Israel of Najara
The author of Yah Ribbon and his many influences.
What Today’s Academic Scholars Can Learn from Their Precursors
Talmudic medicine and bad research.