Menachem ben Shmuel, ten-year-old powder monkey and slop seller.

Three years of fighting in Egypt and the Land of Israel opened the door for modernity.

Beware the Gentile who doesn’t cross himself in front of a church.

Jewish Cologne.

How 19th- and 20th-century Muslim intellectuals, clerics, and rulers attempted to come to terms with Western civilization.

The Italian scholar who last month identified the world's oldest complete Torah scroll tells its story. (Interview by T. M. Law; audio, 30 mins.)