Of all the national heroes who have arisen from among the Jewish people over the generations, fate has not been kind to Dahia al-Kahina, a leader of the Berbers in the Aures Mountains. Although she was a proud Jewess, few Israelis have ever heard the name of this warrior-queen who, in the seventh century C.E., united a number of Berber tribes and pushed back the Muslim army that invaded North Africa. It is possible that the reason for this is that al-Kahina was the daughter of a Berber tribe that had converted to Judaism, apparently several generations before she was born, sometime around the 6th century C.E.

According to the Tel Aviv University historian, Prof. Shlomo Sand, author of "Matai ve'ech humtza ha'am hayehudi?" ("When and How the Jewish People Was Invented?"; Resling, in Hebrew), the queen's tribe and other local tribes that converted to Judaism are the main sources from which Spanish Jewry sprang. This claim that the Jews of North Africa originated in indigenous tribes that became Jewish - and not in communities exiled from Jerusalem - is just one element of the far- reaching argument set forth in Sand's new book.

In this work, the author attempts to prove that the Jews now living in Israel and other places in the world are not at all descendants of the ancient people who inhabited the Kingdom of Judea during the First and Second Temple period. Their origins, according to him, are in varied peoples that converted to Judaism during the course of history, in different corners of the Mediterranean Basin and the adjacent regions. Not only are the North African Jews for the most part descendants of pagans who converted to Judaism, but so are the Jews of Yemen (remnants of the Himyar Kingdom in the Arab Peninsula, who converted to Judaism in the fourth century) and the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe (refugees from the Kingdom of the Khazars, who converted in the eighth century).

Suite : http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966952.html

Israel Bardugo, Uman

Some 20,000 Israelis visited Rabbi Nachman's grave in the Ukrainian city of Uman, which became an Israeli town for a week.

Ynet photographer Israel Bardugo spent the Jewish New Year with Breslov Hasidim and prayed as part of a Chabad quorum. Here is a peek into his festive journey.

Bustle around gravesite (Photos: Israel Bardugo)

Exultation in city of Uman

Everybody dance now

A sound mind in a sound body

Paris ? Uman !

Who wants Selichot?

Quiet, we're praying

My quorum

New phenomenon in southern city of

Kiryat Gat during penitential prayers:

Girls arrive at women's gallery in order to seek forgiveness for their sins, while searching for potential mates

A new phenomenon has emerged during the penitential prayers held in the southern city of Kiryat Gat after midnight: Young girls arrive in masses at the synagogues' women's gallery, and while seeking forgiveness for sins they committed over the past year, they search for potential mates among at the young men praying at the temple.

Meanwhile, the boys appear to cooperate, many of them telling of dates which take place at the end of the prayers.

Recent years have seen an awakening among the city's teenage residents, who take part in the Selichot prayers held at local synagogues. There are those who say many have become newly religious following these prayers, which are accompanied by melodious singing.

Members of the opposite sex have also begun arriving at the synagogues in masses, attempting to hunt down a captivating male youth.

The boys, on their part, pray vigorously, some taking part in the singing with their pleasant voices in order to impress the girls with their talent.

Following the prayers, which end past midnight, the meetings begin. The teenagers spend the night attempting to find a suitable mate ahead of Yom Kippur.

The synagogue rabbis have no plans to put an end to this phenomenon. They view it as a positive thing, as the girls arrive at the synagogue in modest clothing, and sometimes even vow to observe the mitzvoth. The rabbis are also encouraged by many cases of youths becoming newly religious.

The penitential prayers began about a month ago, at the start of the month of Elul, and will end on the evening before Yom Kippur Eve, giving the young men and women enough time to track each other down. The new couples will likely be seen at the synagogues following the Kol Nidrei prayer on the eve of the Day of Atonement.