“Die situation ist verzweifelt, aber nicht ernst.” This Viennese slogan from a century ago was on my mind during my recent trip to Israel. “The situation is desperate, but not serious.” That is, the matzav (situation) is serious, but people do not act as if they were in a serious matzav. Things are not looking [...]
Jewish History
A few weeks ago, a large book was delivered to me, in care of the Where What When. Though there was no letter enclosed, I understood that the author was sending me a complimentary copy of his new book and wanted me to write a review. This is a first for me, as I did not [...]
After three days in Spain, our group heads for mysterious Morocco. Just how close Morocco is we discover on Thursday, as we cross the Straits of Gibraltar to Africa, to Arab Morocco. Because of political tensions between Spain and Gibraltar, one may not sail directly from Gibraltar, which would be the simplest and fastest route. [...]