Jews, Ukrainians, Buddhists, Fortress Synagogues, Ancient Torah Amulets, and the Talmud on TikTok

Jewish History lectures, recent and forthcoming. It’s been pretty busy.

Jews and Ukrainians in Revolutionary Times

Premieres Sunday at 12:00 Noon ET (New York Time) with live chat.

Ukrainians and Jews forged an unusual partnership during the brief period that followed the collapse of the Russian Empire, creating a Ministry of Jewish Affairs in a short-lived independent Ukrainian state. The experiment was doomed, however, by the Russian invasion, civil war and wave of pogroms that submerged the region in violence.

Join us for a live chat at 12 noon ET (16 minutes, New York time), perhaps reflecting on what this history means for contemporary Jews and Ukrainians.

Fortress Synagogue Architecture in Eastern Europe

Sixth video in the “What is a Synagogue?” series, in connection with the upcoming 41st Annual Dinner of the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst.

Explaining Jewish Religious Practices to Buddhists

Live Zoom Conference: Wednesday, February 9, 8:30 am-11:30 AM EST (New York Time)

My colleague Professor Nathan Katz, a world expert on Judaism and eastern faiths, invited me to participate in this unusual conference hosted by the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka. What I know about Buddhism would fit into the sound of one hand clapping, but my role here will be to describe some of the basics of Jewish religious practice to Buddhist scholars (is there a word for “Jewsplaining”? “Yidsplaining”?). Honored to participate with Professor Alan Brill and Rebbetzin Blu Greenberg, both of whom are very knowledgable and reputable scholars in their respective fields.

Zoom ID: 885 0128 2754, Passcode 005234

How a 13-Year Old Discovered the Oldest Text from the Torah

The Ketef Hinnom amulets are absolutely amazing–almost as amazing of the story of their discovery! This video deals with some philosophically challenging issues, not intended for broader distribution, so it’s available to members of my YouTube Channel (Researcher and Colleague levels) and students registered in my Biblical Jewish History online course. Click here for a longer explanation of why this video is not public.