The Last Muslim Hero On today’s date in 1169, Salah ad-din Yusuf ibn Ayyub became the Emir of Egypt. Last month, our World Religions class learned much about this notable Muslim leader. His name came up in two different contexts. The first was during our foray into...
It’s Not a Right, It’s a Privilegium! “It’s not a right – it’s a privilege!” I cannot tell you how many times I heard this common classroom rejoinder to a fellow student’s request to leave the room… And I cannot tell you how many times I, as a...
Ibn Ezra: The Jewish Genius Who Lit Up the ‘Dark Ages’ Tomorrow is the yahrzeit of Abraham Ibn Ezra. If you haven’t heard of him or his accomplishments before, it is unsurprising as he lived and wrote at a time when the rest of Europe was plunged into what...
The Statute of Westminster @ 92: A Canadian Coming of Age Story 92 years ago today, Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King said the following: “The British Commonwealth of Nations has shown the world a new conception of the relationship of states to...
The Greatest Jewish Woman You’ve Probably Never Heard Of December 4, 1496, stands as one of those dates that, on its face, is but one of a thousand unremarkable sad days in our people’s history – but it set in motion a series of events that later resulted...
Sleepwalking into War Picture it. A powerful dignitary, heir to the throne, visits a foreign capital, and even though the threats to his life are public and palpable, his advisors reject the recommendation that troops not line the parade route as to not offend the...
