Anne Ornstein

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Aug 7, 2024, 1:05 PM

Jewish Bucharest: An Impression

Postal card of Lipscani Street around 1900. Source: Wikimedia Commons

On the banks of the Dâmbovița, a tributary of the Danube, Jews have lived in Bucharest for centuries. As I walk out of the airport, the sweltering heat is overpowering: it's summer in Bucharest. At this time of year, temperatures often...

Dec 21, 2020, 10:20 PM

No Guarantees (Vayigash)

In this week´s parashat Vayigash we see the tail-end of the story that unfolded in parashat Miketz. Miketz left us with a cliffhanger: Joseph's plan to set up his brothers had reached a climax: Benjamin is framed for the...

Sep 2, 2020, 11:54 AM

The Purpose of History (Movie: Cloud Atlas)

Recently, Cloud Atlas was on Dutch television. This is a science fiction movie made in 2012, directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski's, and based on David Mitchell's eponymous book. In the movie, we follow six different storylines, featuring well-known...

Apr 24, 2020, 4:54 PM

Zman Cherutenu: The freedom of Har Sinai

In 1923, the Austrian-Jewish philosopher Martin Buber wrote an essay on the condition of the Jewish youth in his day. The situation, he explained, was not a good one. Large numbers of the young people had drifted away from...

Dec 23, 2019, 2:14 PM

Humble Enlightenment (Chanukah)

It's that time of the year again: the days are getting shorter, and consequently the nights are getting longer. Mariah Carey's 'All I want for Christmas is you' and Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' are being played on the radio ad infinitum, and the...

Nov 14, 2019, 8:38 PM

Great Non-Expectations (parashat Vayera)

In this week's parashat Vayera we read about the birth and the younger years of Yitzschak (Isaac). Yitzschak's birth is cause for laughter, since in the beginning of the parasha we can read that Sarah laughs when she overhears the...

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About Me

Anne Ornstein was born and raised in Amsterdam in 1989. She studied philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, where she wrote her thesis on Martin Buber's perception of Judaism. She currently works as a receptionist and sometimes writes articles for the Jewish Weekly.