Rav Avigdor Miller (1908-2001) was a unique and influential rabbinical leader on the American scene of the 20th century. With his life spanning most of the tumultuous 20th century, his life story is s

Soviet Jewry in the 1970’s and 80’s was a large community which was struggling to define its Jewish identity. Following the Six Day War in Israel, the Refusenik movement gained traction, with many you

The Molotov-Von Ribbentrop non-aggression pact ultimately led to the annexation of large swaths of territory into the Soviet Union. The Jews of eastern Poland and the Baltic States now had to acclimat

In part 3 of the story of Rav Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (1878-1953), the Chazon Ish, his path is traced from his relative obscurity to his emergence as a leader. From expressing halachic positions for

Zishe or Siegmund Breitbart (1893-1925) was a circus strongman, and a Jewish folk hero of his day. Having grown up in an observant home in Strykov in Poland, his remarkable strength eventually led him

Rav Pinchas Horowitz (1731-1805), known by his most enduring literary work ‘the Hafla’ah’, was unique in the respect that the varied aspects of his legacy enjoyed a broad consensus across the Jewish w

The development of the railroad and the laying of rail track across the Russian Empire in the late 19th century, had a tremendous impact on traditional Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement. The railr

Rav Sholom Dovber Schneerson (1860-1920), better known as the Rashab, as the fifth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, was one of the leaders of Russian Jewry at a time when it confronted many challenges of mo

The Vilna Gaon, or the Gra, or Hagaon Hachassid, were just several of the titles by which Rav Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720-1797) was known during his lifetime and to posterity. It would be difficul

The Tolna chassidic dynasty is a branch of the Chernobyl dynasty founded in Ukraine in the 19th century. Rav Dovid Twersky of Tolna (1808-1882) was one of the most influential leaders of chassidic Ukr