The Weekly News Nosh – January 18, 2026

News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture

Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

1. 1. Tired of wasting your time by scrolling through irrelevant posts on different web sites to find a program of interest or missing a particular educational event of importance because the post is “gone” within hours or the next day after being posted? Are you bored of seeing someone post the same meeting over and over and yet over again (even on the same site)?

      You do not have to do that any longer…the easy, simple, modern-day solution is here!

      Are You Missing Out Of Any Recent Great Programs/Events Such As These…
      
      *Jewish Brooklyn Through The Decades
      *Latest MyHeritage Technologies for Genealogy
      *Gesher Galicia Zoom Meeting
      *Navigating Holocaust Resource Data Online
      *Kosher in the Cold: The Jewish Norway Story
      *Resistance in the Nesvizh Ghetto
      *Using AI for Genealogy Resources
      *Qesher Book Club: Testing Faith
      *Jewish Language and Heritage Words
      *Tips for Using the Steve Morse Website
      *Researching The Jewish Story in Soviet Occupied Poland 1939-1941.
      *Help…I got my DNA Results and I am Confused!
      *Portuguese Secrets: Little Known Jewish History That Changed the World
      *JGSGB Mini ConferenceThese events and many, many more can be found in ONE PLACE…on the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation’s Worldwide Jewish Event Calendar called JDays!

      This has been a real “game changer” in the posting and discovering Jewish educational events from around the world with various Jewish organizations not just Jewish Genealogy Society programs, but from Jewish Museums, Holocaust Museums, Jewish Historical Societies, University Judaic Studies Programs, Jewish Federations, B’nai Brith, Qesher, Gesher Galicia, JRI Poland, Litvak SIG and more!

      To View Events Anytime 24/7/365:
      JDays – L’Dor V’Dor Foundation (LDVDF)
      To Submit an Event:
      User Submitted Events
      To Have JDays sent to you each month:
      Subscribe – L’Dor V’Dor Foundation (LDVDF)

   2. Have You Heard of The Hebrew Headstone Helper? A Facebook group with prompts to help you translate your family headstone. Some great information. Go to: Hebrew Headstone Helper (H3) | **NEWLY REVISED PROMPT | Facebook Thanks to Arthur Sissman and Steve Little for their work on this project.
   3. The theme for the 2026 European Days of Jewish Culture is announced — LOVE. The annual events, which encompass hundreds of activities and initiatives in more than two dozen countries, runs from the beginning of September through November. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2026/01/11/edjc-2026-theme/
   4. What to Expect from FamilySearch in 2026. Read what is coming in 2026 from their blog: What to Expect from FamilySearch in 2026
   5. Stop Clicking: Start Watching! Explore The Library of Newspapers.com Quick Video Tutorials. There are quite a few about genealogy. Go to their blog to see more: Stop Clicking: Start Watching! Explore Our Library of Newspapers.com Quick Video Tutorials – The official blog of Newspapers.com
   6. Lithuania Lost Shtetl Museum dedicated to 200 Jewish communities destroyed by Nazis. The region’s biggest museum dedicated to shtetl culture in the Baltics was developed and realized by an international team of historians, architects, and Jewish cultural experts. Based in Šeduva, whose Jewish history dates back at least to the 15th century, the museum structure resembles a small town. Read more from Jewish News UK: Lithuania Lost Shtetl Museum dedicated to 200 Jewish communities destroyed by Nazis – Jewish News
   7. How the Dominican Republic Saved Jewish Lives During the Holocaust. When most countries turned away desperate refugees fleeing Nazi terror, one unlikely Caribbean island provided Jews with a safe refuge. Read the story from Aish: How the Dominican Republic Saved Jewish Lives During the Holocaust | Aish
   8. He Survived Dachau. He Captured Its Horrors on Paper the Next Day. When Brian Stonehouse, a British spy posing as an artist, was freed from the concentration camp, he made drawings to document what he had witnessed. Read his story from the NY Times: He Survived Dachau. He Captured Its Horrors on Paper the Next Day. – The New York Times
   9. New Claims Conference grant helps Center for Jewish History solve Holocaust-era family mysteries. With a new grant from the Claims Conference, researchers can use social media and archives to shed light on family histories and educate people about the Holocaust. Read more from eJewishPhilanthropy: New Claims Conference grant helps Center for Jewish History solve Holocaust-era family mysteries – eJewishPhilanthropy
   10. How Many Ancestors Do You Have (Realistically)? The number of ancestors that we have doubles each generation. Pedigree collapse is how we exist. What this means is that some of our ancestors are our ancestors on more than one line of our family tree. The technical genealogical term for this is “pedigree collapse”. Read more: How Many Ancestors Do You Have? – Who are You Made Of?
   11. Why the Mishnah Is the Best Jewish Book You’ve Never Read. This almost 2,000-year-old text flies under the radar, but it’s immensely important to Jewish life. The Mishnah, a body of Jewish legal text compiled around the year 200 C.E, has played a foundational role in the history of Judaism. Read more from My Jewish Learning: Why the Mishnah Is the Best Jewish Book You’ve Never Read | My Jewish Learning
   12. New Torah tech tool shows which parts of the Bible are the ‘hottest’. With funding from Sinai and Synapses, which connects religion and technology, Rabbi Daniel Bogard created a “heatmap” showing which chapters of the Bible have the most commentaries. Read the story from eJP: New Torah tech tool shows which parts of the Bible are the ‘hottest’ – eJewishPhilanthropy
   13. The Dashing Jewish General Who Was a Hero in the Persian Army. Isidor Borowski was a Jewish adventurer-soldier who fought for Napoleon, helped liberate Venezuela, and rose to become a favored general of the Persian Shah. Read more about him from Aish: The Dashing Jewish General Who Was a Hero in the Persian Army | Aish
   14. Martin Luther King: Quotes about Israel and Jews. Stirring calls to live up to our potential and to look at others with fairness and warmth. Read his story from Aish: Martin Luther King: Quotes about Israel and Jews | Aish
   15. The Jews of Florida: A History. How did South Florida become one of the largest Jewish communities in the world? The Jewish population of South Florida is about 650,000. It has the third largest concentration of Jews in the country and the single largest concentration of Jews outside of Israel. Read more from Aish: The Jews of Florida: A History | Aish Editor’s Note: This story reminded me of the Borsht Belt comedian’s joke of “What is a good Jewish wine (whine)?” “Take me to Miami Beach.”
   16. Speaking of the Borsht Belt. Have you checked out the Borsht Belt Museum?  The Borscht Belt Museum is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Catskills resort era, and celebrating its history as a refuge from bigotry, the cradle of stand-up comedy and a cultural catalyst that changed America. Go to: Borscht Belt Museum
   17. Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The lie that would not die. The fact that the text of the Protocols continues to be reprinted, quoted, and recycled to this day remains a troublesome curiosity in the history of hoaxes and conspiracy literature. Read the story about this 19^th century anti-Semitic pamphlet that has been exposed many times as a forgery from My Jewish Learning: Protocols of the Elders of Zion | My Jewish Learning
   18. For You Sports Nuts: Alex Bregman, who drew a Jewish star on his cap after Oct. 7, inks $175M deal with the Cubs. It’s the second-biggest contract for a Jewish baseball player. Read his story from The Forward: Alex Bregman, who drew a Jewish star on his cap after Oct. 7, inks $175M deal with the Cubs – The Forward
   19. The State of The Bagel 2026 Report. Fun facts about bagels. Read the Nationwide Survey from Einstein Brothers Bagels: State-of-the-Bagel-Report.pdf
   20. The hottest hangout for Jewish teens on the Upper East Side is — a kosher grocery store? At Ouri’s Market, a kosher grocery near Ramaz High School, smoothies and Instagram buzz have turned snacking into a scene. Read the story from JTA: The hottest hangout for Jewish teens on the Upper East Side is — a kosher grocery store? – New York Jewish Week

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About The Weekly News Nosh

The Weekly News Nosh contains news about Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History and Jewish Culture. NewsNosh is published on Sundays and distributed by the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation on its website and social media platforms. “A Family Without The Understanding Of Their Past History, Foundation And Ethnicity Is Like A Tree Without Roots.” Subscribe to receive future announcements.