Jewish observance of Passover during persecution including the Crusades, Inquisition, the Plague, Civil War, Warsaw Ghetto, concentration camps,
07 Apr
Coronavirus, Jewish World, Latest

Celebrating Passover Amidst Difficult Circumstances

In this time of uncertainty, Moment is working hard to provide you with fact checked news, resources and analysis—plus some lighter fare—to help us make it through the crisis together. Click here for our ongoing coronavirus coverage. On the first night of Passover, we ask this question: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” This year, that question takes on significant new meaning. It is not about the rituals of Passover, but rather about the unique situation in which we find ourselves as we celebrate the holiday. The tradition of gathering together for the Passover meal has gone by the wayside; we are forced to separate ourselves to fight a deadly virus.  Indeed, this Passover comes amidst difficult circumstances. But it is not, by far, the first time Jews have celebrated Passover in trying times.  From the very first Passover,...

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06 Jan
Latest, Misc

For Refugees, a Modern Exodus

By Adam Chandler Before escaping to Israel in 2003, Ephraim lived in a camp with 15,000 other Eritreans. Like a growing number of refugees from Eritrea as well as the Congo, Darfur, and Southern Sudan, Ephraim set off to evade the lethal farrago of political unrest, genocide, and deprivation that has come to typify the drought-laden portions of Eastern Africa. He left when he was 19, some seven years ago, a decision he says he made “to preserve life.” The trek itself was a life-risking gambit. He paid smugglers to take him north through a maze of menace filled with unceasing obstacles. Those who don’t die of fatigue, starvation, or dehydration on the way must make it through the Sinai Desert where an Egyptian policy of shoot-on-sight...

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08 Mar
Uncategorized

The Right to Choose

By Michelle Albert Last May, a 17 year-old girl in Utah paid a man $150 dollars to beat her up—kicking her in the stomach—in the hopes of inducing a miscarriage. The baby survived, and the assailant was sent to jail, reports the New York Times. Now, a bill criminalizing illegal abortion is waiting for Utah's governor's signature. On the surface, this seems redundant: An illegal abortion is a criminal act. Utah's laws define all abortions as illegal unless the health of the mother is at stake, the mother is a victim of rape of incest or the child would be born with serious defects. Any other reason, no matter how sensible it may seem to the mother, is illegal. The implications for such a bill are huge. Exodus 21:22 deals with violent abortions in a somewhat similar way: And...

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