From the earliest days of Nazi Germany through the present time, the New York Times has been continuously assailed in books  by prominent scholars such as  Prof. Laurel Leff,  articles by respected politicians such as Ed Koch, watchdog organizations such as CAMERA, huge numbers of pundits and columnists such as Mark Silverberg, and editorials in high-circulation newspapers and magazines such as the New York Post and Commentary, for its long-term and blatant antipathy to Jewish causes -- and, most particularly, its biased and unfavorable "news" coverage of matters relating to the State of Israel.

Ms. Lerman, who grew up in an Orthodox home and keeps kosher still, does a brisk business in quadruped Judaica in her store. She sells yarmulkes and tallits (prayer shawls) for dogs as well as plush toys by a company called Chewish Pets, including a bagel and a fish embroidered with the word "lox." The store supplies such items, and Evanger's food, to increasingly popular Bark Mitzvahs, a cheeky canine rite of passage where, as documented in videos of the celebrations posted on YouTube, some guests utter a congratulatory "Muzzle Tov."

They say the Golem, a Jewish giant with glowing eyes and supernatural powers, is lurking once again in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue here.

Small stones left by visitors at the tombstone of its supposed maker, Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel.

The Golem, according to Czech legend, was fashioned from clay and brought to life by a rabbi to protect Prague's 16th-century ghetto from persecution, and is said to be called forth in times of crisis.

Even the first lady, Michelle Obama, paid her respects, when she visited Rabbi Loew's grave last month and, following Jewish tradition, placed a prayer on a piece of paper and put it near his tombstone.