Local celebrations echoing the Purim theme have been instituted by communities throughout Jewish history.

The many ethnic and religious subgroups within the Jewish community.

He could kill a lion or topple a temple with his bare hands, but succumbed to the love of a treacherous woman. Many wild traditions circulated about the first Jewish superhero.

How to develop a healthy relationship with the material world.

1970s & '80s stand-up & sketch comedy: Seinfeld's start, Andy Kaufman, Saturday Night Live

A selection of piyyutim from the Rosh Hashanah Amidah

The marriage of politics and religion contributed to both the expansion and destruction of this short-lived dynasty.

Service is compulsory for most Jewish Israelis.

Jews have been present on the Italian peninsula from the time of Judah Maccabee.

Saul Austerlitz is the author of Another Fine Mess: A History of American Film Comedy. He will be blogging all ...