Observation ·
How Mosaics Got Their Name, and How “Mosaic” Got Its
By PhilologosMoses, the muses, and an early-1960s Jewish magazine at Harvard.
Philologos
Philologos, the renowned Jewish-language columnist, appears twice a month in Mosaic. Questions for him may be sent to his email address by clicking here.
Latest Content
Observation ·
The Places Where Israelis Take Shelter, and Their Acronyms
By PhilologosMamad , mamak , mamam , mamats —how about some sleep?
Observation ·
Where Did Shylock Get His Name?
By PhilologosThe unusual appellation testifies to the individuality of the character who bears it.
Observation ·
Do Kippot and Keffiyehs Share an Etymology?
By PhilologosOnly one was a mark of prestige for ancient rabbis.
Observation ·
The Forgotten Story behind the “Deep State”
By PhilologosThe real network of criminals, secret police, and dissident officers that transformed the Ottoman empire.
Observation ·
Which Sea Did the Israelites Cross?
By PhilologosExodus's Sea of Reeds wasn't the Red Sea. But was it the Gulf of Suez? Lake Balah? Somewhere else?
Observation ·
The Blood Libel Is Very Old, but the Term Is Surprisingly New
By PhilologosThere’s no more point in arguing with the UN about Israel than there is in arguing about whether Jews really kill Christians for their blood.
Observation ·
The Long Postbiblical History of “Judea and Samaria”
By PhilologosThe controversial terms, unlike “West Bank,” were in common use until 1948.
Observation ·
Nobody Wants All Hell to Break Loose. But Who’s Breaking, and from Where?
By PhilologosDonald Trump, Paradise Lost , and the origins of a phrase.
Observation ·
Did God Give Moses Ten Sayings, Ten Commandments, or Just Ten Things?
By PhilologosNeither Jewish nor Christian traditions call the Decalogue by its biblical name, but the phrases they choose reveal something about their different approaches to divine law.
Observation ·
Why the Accusation of Settler Colonialism Is So Hollow
By PhilologosThe question is not whether Zionism was settler colonialism; it’s what sort of settler colonialism it was.
Observation ·
The Origins of “Tariff,” the Most International of Words
By PhilologosBrought from Arabic via Algerian pirates and Italian merchants, it only acquired its current meaning at the end of the 18th century.
Observation ·
How “Kratsmakh” Became the Yiddish Word for Christmas
By PhilologosBy way of an ancient Roman holiday and two very similar Hebrew letters.
Observation ·
Did the First Thanksgiving Involve the Word “Thanksgiving”?
By PhilologosThe word was invented in translating the Psalm recited by the Pilgrims.
Observation ·
Where Did the Idea of Three “Abrahamic Faiths” Come From?
By PhilologosThe incompatible narratives of Judaism and Islam, and what the Bible has to say about them.
Observation ·
The Jewish Roots of the Christian Phrase “Turn the Other Cheek”
By PhilologosThe contrast between New Testament forbearance and Hebraic hard-heartedness is an idea that won't die.
Observation ·
A Year On, Israelis Still Haven’t Found a Name for the Current War
By PhilologosEven as it becomes clear who will emerge victorious.
Observation ·
Who Is the “Little Sister” of a Medieval Rosh Hashanah Prayer?
By PhilologosShe comes from the Song of Songs. But what is she doing there?
Observation ·
Israelis Have Three Different Words for “Hostages”
By PhilologosAnd one has a historical background that is not unrelated to the plight of the hostages in Gaza.
Observation ·
No, James Carville, Israelis Are Not Whiter Than Palestinians
By PhilologosAmericans like the veteran Democratic strategist should not project their problems onto peoples who already have enough of their own.
Observation ·
The Hebrew Language’s Wildly Unpredictable Gender System
By PhilologosAll nouns and adjectives in Hebrew are gendered. Why do those genders keep switching?
Observation ·
This Hebrew Saying Might Have the Same Origin as an American Southern One
By PhilologosCould "It’s easier to take the Jew out of exile than to take exile out of the Jew" and "You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy" have shared roots?
Observation ·
An Unusual and Beautiful Hebrew Poem by a 19th-Century Catholic Priest
By PhilologosI can’t think of a single serious Hebrew composition written by a Christian other than “In Praise of the Hebrew Language.”
Observation ·
Haketiya, the Spanish Yiddish
By PhilologosLike Ladino, Haketiya grew out of the Spanish of Jews exiled from Spain. Like Yiddish, it has a range of loving, spiteful, sarcastic, ironic, anxious, and superstitious expressions.
Observation ·
How Monotheistic Israel and Pagan Rome Gave the World Its Weeks
By PhilologosA rivalry between the Jewish numerical and European pagan-astronomical nomenclatures for the seven-day week has played out over millennia across the world.
Observation ·
When Did Jews Settle on the Seven-Day Week?
By PhilologosIt was only in the early-to-mid first millennium BCE that both the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Hebrews began dividing their lunar months into seven-day periods.
Observation ·
How the Eurovision Censors Helped Make Eden Golan a Star
By PhilologosIn trying to take references to October 7 out of the Israeli singer's now-famous song "Hurricane," the competition both accidentally improved it and made her a cause célèbre .
Observation ·
Why Are the Anti-Israel Chants So Dull?
By PhilologosCompared to the wit of the anti-Vietnam slogans of the late 60s, the anti-Israel chants of today are aggressively tedious. What does that say about the chanters?
Observation ·
Did the Ancient Sage Hillel Really Invent the Sandwich?
By PhilologosThe truth of the tale of Hillel and the "Hillel sandwich."
Observation ·
Were There Arab Jews, and Did They Speak Judeo-Arabic?
By PhilologosJews in Arab lands spoke much the same Arabic as their neighbors. But the notion that they thought of themselves as Arab Jews, pushed now in some circles, is a historical absurdity.
