(JTA) — On Wednesday morning, Alfred Moses, 94, sat in a small white armchair at a round wooden table in a Manhattan office building as a historian gingerly turned the pages of a more than 1,000-year-old book in front of him. Two weeks earlier, Moses had paid a record-setting sum for the book — more than $38 million in total. But this was the first time he had ever seen it. The book was the Codex Sassoon, the world’s oldest nearly-complete copy of the Hebrew Bible, and Moses had purchased it on behalf of the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. That morning, in Sotheby’s Upper East Sid ..read more

Arthur Epstein, who died last week, was a throwback to the kind of local community leader that Jews have turned to in every generation for help. Epstein – like so many of his contemporaries – rose from humble roots in Malden to become an astute business owner and investor. But the core of his mission focused on helping people, and strengthening the local community. He understood the importance of human dignity, and was unfailingly honest about issues that needed to be addressed. He was vocal about the need to improve mental health – his late wife, Eunice, had suffered from bipolar disorder for ..read more

PITTSBURGH (JTA) — Testifying at the trial of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, Carol Black described how, right before he opened fire, she had taken her yarmulke and tallis out of her velvet tallis bag.  But first, she had to explain what a yarmulke, tallis and tallis bag were.  “In my briefcase is a blue velvet bag that has a zipper on it,” she said. “I have a Ziploc bag of yarmulkes I would wear and a tallis I would wear.” A yarmulke was a “head covering,” she explained, and a tallis was a “prayer shawl.” The items, she said, “just signified being in the presence of God and being ..read more

Arthur Joseph Epstein, who rose from modest roots in Malden to become a business executive and philanthropist, died on March 21. He was 86. Epstein began his career with Midas Muffler in 1965, when a friend of his mother offered him the opportunity to buy his Malden Midas shop. Eventually, he became the owner of the second-largest franchise in the country. In recent years, he focused much of his attention on philanthropy and supporting Jewish education and mental health. In 2017, Epstein donated $5 million to Hillel Academy in Marblehead, and the school was renamed the Epstein Hillel School. T ..read more

Local targets of antisemitism whose stories became symbols of a horrifying trend are among those who are standing with Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston (CJP) to elevate their voices and urge action to stop Jewish hate in Boston and across Massachusetts. The region has seen antisemitic incidents sharply rise in recent years. A new report from the Anti-Defamation League found a 41 percent increase in antisemitic incidents from 2021 to 2022 in Massachusetts. The new Face Jewish Hate campaign is a key component of CJP’s five-point plan to stop Jewish hate now and is the result of a ..read more

A former client of Jewish Vocational Service who immigrated to the United States from Russia as a child was recently named to head the organization that assisted her and her parents when, in her words, “We had nothing.” Kira Khazatsky, the new president and chief executive officer of JVS – one of New England’s largest providers of adult education and workforce development – worked her way through the ranks of the agency, gaining invaluable insights. She succeeds David Fleischman, who held the position for less than a year. The former superintendent of Newton schools said he would be returning ..read more

NEWBURYPORT – Alex Matthews, congregational leader at Congregation Ahavas Achim (CAA) since 2019, will receive his rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College in Newton, on June 4, and will now assume the role of rabbi. His four-year ordination program included deep study of the Torah, Jewish traditions, and the importance of community building. “Alex is truly the epitome of a phenomenal Jewish leader and we’re proud to be part of his journey to ordained rabbi,” said Debbie Pourati, president of CAA and a Newburyport resident. “We started working with him just as he began his studies at Hebrew Col ..read more

A realistic goal must be three things: specific, measurable and achievable. Will the proposals outlined in the White House’s first official strategy to counter antisemitism, released with much fanfare last week, pass this test? Or are they more political pablum? The report, which followed conversations with more than 1,000 community leaders, distills the challenges American Jews face. It is a thoughtful and comprehensive effort that should be applauded. But understanding a problem and fixing it are two very different things. And reducing antisemitism will require deep societal changes, somethi ..read more

For the past 66 years, the federal government has produced bound editions bearing the title “Public Papers of the Presidents.” Hardly anyone ever opens these books; I have spent a lifetime covering and studying presidents, and even I seldom pierce them. But there is reason to hope that, sometime in the future, someone might open up the 2023 volume and stumble upon the remarks Joe and Jill Biden delivered recently at the White House Jewish American Heritage Month reception. That future scholar, journalist, or commentator will happen upon a set of remarkable speeches that the Bidens made at a ti ..read more

The question I have been asked more than any other in my adult life is, “which authors have influenced your writing?” As with any frequently-asked question, I have a stock answer. It begins with Franz Kafka and Sholem Aleichem, and ends with Janet Frame and Kurt Vonnegut. But if I am being real, there are two people that – although they have not published so much as a pamphlet in their entire lives – have influenced my writing more than all the other authors combined: My mother and father. My parents, both children of war, had to use everything they had to survive. And what they had wasn’t muc ..read more