This week, on November 6th – the 29th of Heshvan – the Ethiopian Jewish community (called Beta Israel) will celebrate a holiday called Sigd. The holiday, meaning “prostration”, has been celebrated for generations. On this day, the community ascends a high mountain (a symbol of Mt. Sinai) and gathers as the priest (the kes) reads…
We recently had the privilege of speaking with Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb about the deeper meaning of Tisha B’Av. Rabbi Weinreb, a clinical psychotherapist and internationally-renowned Torah scholar, hosts the OU’s annual Tisha B’Av webcast. He is also the translator of the kinot in The Lookstein Edition of the Mesorat HaRav Kinot
For book lovers in Israel, this week is simply the best, better than all the rest (Tina Turner soundtrack anyone?) It’s Shavua HaSefer HaIvri (Hebrew Book Week) with sales and events across the country. While, back in 1962, Koren started as an Israeli company that published classic Jewish texts exclusively in Hebrew, we’ve expanded throughout…
This article originally appeared in The Jewish Press. Zohar Amar is an associate professor in the Department of Land of Israel Studies at Bar-Ilan University, with 25 years’ worth of expertise in natural science, archaeology, and Judaic studies. He recently collaborated with Koren Publishers in producing a new edition of Chumash, called the Koren Israel…
We’d like to introduce you to the newest author under the Koren publishing house (under the Menorah Books imprint): Sivan Rahav-Meir. For those who have not yet heard about Sivan, she is one of the most popular media personalities in Israel today. A prime-time news anchor Israel’s Channel 2 News, columnist in Yediot Ahronot and…
In Judaism, lengthy prayer services on the Yom Tovim can inspire reactions that range from uplifted to frustrated. The text, the additional services, the Torah and Haftarah readings come to bring us closer to the themes and significance of these special days, yet often seem foreign to many of us. To address this challenge, a…
Guest Blog: The Director Responds The recent Facebook post for the Koren Ma’alot Tanakh has gotten a lot of attention on social media. As the director of the shoot, I’d like to respond to the comments, both positive and critical, in order to shed a light to who I am and why I chose to…
Last week, Koren Publishers and Sefaria, a free online library of Jewish texts, announced a technology partnership and integration involving The Noé Edition Koren Talmud Bavli. The partnership provides online users of the site with the Aramaic text of the Talmud (Babylonian Talmud), along with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s clear, contemporary translation and commentary from the…
What Makes a Jewish Song Jewish? Note: One of the most powerful aspects of Rabbi Lamm’s Derashot LeDorot series is when readers realize how his message for each parasha, given when he was a synagogue rabbi in the ’50s and ’60s, are still so incredibly relevant today. This piece, for example, was taken from notes…
Koren is proud to announce the acquisition and re-dedication of Menorah Books, our new imprint for Jewish spirituality.