Last month, the Jewish Federation of Delaware announced a yearlong celebration of its 75th anniversary of serving the Jewish community. From its inception in 1935, Federation staff and volunteers have worked together to assist Jews in need locally, in Israel, and throughout the world.

To mark the occasion, the Jewish Voice is publishing a historic chronicle of each decade, with assistance from the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware (JHSD). While the JHSD will provide a chronicle of historic events that will be published in each issue of the Jewish Voice, online we will share your personal memories of a particular decade.

Attending a General Assembly (GA) of the Jewish Federations of North America, the annual conference of the Jewish federation system, is a truly inspiring experience. This gathering is the largest meeting of North American Jewry.  

At the Siegel JCC’s Early Childhood Center last school year, Rabbi Steven Saks, 34, could be seen teaching his young protégés the martial art of Jiu-Jitsu. He’d carefully adjust the defensive front-stance of his eager students by gently lifting a foot here, tweaking a tiny, fisted-arm there, all the while encouraging the little tikes to engage in proper form. Like the cement foundation of a city building, this black belt rabbi knows that a proper and strong Jiu-Jitsu formation is the key to growth in the sport. The rabbi also imports the philosophy of a strong foundation for growth into all aspects of his life – whether he’s teaching a prayer to his beloved little girls (Talia, 3, and Gavriella, 19 months) or involved in profound midrashic discussion with a Hebrew school class – Rabbi Saks is an Orthodox rabbi whose achievements and approach are breaking the mold.

Click here for the entire list of past articles.

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Making big headlines last month, Israel plans new apartments for East Jerusalem. While most countries, including the U.S., condemned the construction, Israel defended its actions by saying the neighborhoods in question are not settlements but part of its own capital. 

Jewish humor has an illustrious history. In more recent times, from a historic perspective, one of the greatest masters of the comic art was the Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem, who lived most of his life in Russia and died in New York in 1916. Sholem Aleichem’s very name conveys a self-ridicule inherent in some Jewish humor. He was born Sholem Rabinovich, but after he became a comic fiction writer, he adopted his new name which simply means “How do you do?” in Yiddish. This is how Jews frequently greeted each other in their old abodes of Europe. Sholem Aleichem has written many memorable books full of self deprecation and a variety of humorous stories. Although conventional wisdom associates Jewish humor with 19th century Eastern Europe, in part created by Sholem Aleichem, the humor of the 20th century America has been termed the “Golden Age” of Jewish humor.

Dr. E. E. Jaffe is a regular contributor to the Jewish Voice. To read his past articles, click here.

The previous part looked at the historic triumphal Arch of Titus and the beginnings of Rome’s ghetto while today traveling along the Via del Portico d’Octavia. This part concludes with the Square of the Five Synagogues, Fountain of the Tortoises, and the Great Temple.

To read Dr. Howard M. Berlin's past articles click here.