Israel Scored a Symbolic Victory by Capturing Beaufort Castle. Does It Matter?
A crusader fortress and war against Hizballah.
June 2, 2026
When Jews, Christians, and Muslims First Recorded Their Sacred Music
The origins of trop.
Around the 9th century, groups of Jewish scribes, known as Masoretes (literally, “bearers of tradition”), developed a system of markings to represent vowels, and clarify the pronunciation of consonants, in written Hebrew. They also devised a set of symbols to convey the melody according to which the biblical text was to be chanted—the trop studied in preparation for countless bar- and bat-mitzvah ceremonies.
June 2, 2026
Iran Faces Economic Collapse
Even fanatics cannot live on ideology alone.
Qatar Cracks Down on Its Baha’i
America shouldn’t be silent.
When Jews, Christians, and Muslims First Recorded Their Sacred Music
The origins of trop.
Were Tarot Cards Originally a Secret Means of Teaching Torah?
A scholar argues that they were developed by French crypto-Jews.