The Jews of Bukhara (Sunday in Denver); the Maimonidean Controversy; Save the Date for Roslyn NY

Really looking forward to speaking to the Or Avner community in Aurora, CO!


The Maimonidean Controversy


Save the Date: Shabbaton in Roslyn NY, December 20-21

  • The Seven Jewish Survival Skills

    The Seven Jewish Survival Skills

    The Seven Jewish Survival Skills HISN 155: Survive Jewish History I Divine Providence Two things: first of all, this isn’t a “skill” per se, since it is not directly dependent on human choice, and second, it’s very difficult to discern exactly when and how it operates. This is an academic course, as therefore we tend……

  • New Experimental Jewish History Course

    New Experimental Jewish History Course

    Hello Jewish History fans– Here’s a new project you might find interesting. A few months ago I came across the work of Ken Bain (What the Best College Teachers Do), which inspired me to take a dramatic new look at the way I’ve been teaching a bread-and-butter course for a long time: History of the……

  • Parashat Naso in the Warsaw Ghetto (June 8, 1940)

    Parashat Naso in the Warsaw Ghetto (June 8, 1940)

    “It is not sufficient for a person to merely perform a commandment to fulfill one’s duty as a Jew, rather one must transform one’s self into a Jew in the sense of and you will be a nation of priests unto Me, and a holy nation.”

  • Shavuot in the Warsaw Ghetto (1940)

    Shavuot in the Warsaw Ghetto (1940)

    Shimon Huberband was a student of the Rebbe and an amateur historian working for Emanuel Ringelblum’s underground Oneg Shabbat archive (Rabbi Huberband, who was killed along with Ringelblum and most of the archivists, was probably instrumental in convincing the Rebbe to entrust his manuscript to Ringelblum for burial). Rabbi Huberband  visited the court of Piaseczno……

  • Who Was HaRav Ovadia Yosef?

    Who Was HaRav Ovadia Yosef?

    Brief overview of the life and work of Hakham Ovadia Yosef, prominent Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel. Final installment in the Spring 2018 Lecture Series: The Sephardic Diaspora. Sponsored by Katie and Vick Crespin of Miami Beach, FL In honor of the Six Million and all who were killed just for being Jewish.

  • Greetings from Harvard

    Greetings from Harvard

    Hello everyone– Had a great time here at the “Touro of Cambridge.” Great colleagues, great students, but looking forward to returning to the Mighty Avenue J for tomorrow’s lecture on Hakham Ovadya Yosef, last of the Spring 2018 series). Here’s a couple photos my wife took of me at my old hangouts: Widener Library and……

  • Who Are the Crypto-Jews?

    Who Are the Crypto-Jews?

    Brief lecture on the Crypto-Jews. Part 9 of The Sephardic Diaspora series. If you have difficulty seeing the video please click here.

  • Parashat Emor in the Warsaw Ghetto (May 11, 1940)

    Parashat Emor in the Warsaw Ghetto (May 11, 1940)

    The brief sense of relief felt by Warsaw Jews at the beginning of Passover 1941 did not last. Decrees expelling Jews from several towns were scheduled for the intermediate days of the holiday, and pressures upon the Jewish community increased dramatically. Diarists of the Ghetto record widespread confusion among the population over new Nazi policies……

  • Piaseczno Talk at Chabad of Harvard

    Piaseczno Talk at Chabad of Harvard

    Really looking forward to this.

  • Reminder: No class tonight, resume next week

    Reminder: No class tonight, resume next week

    Good morning students of Jewish History! Just a reminder that we will not be meeting tonight; classes will resume on Monday May 7.  You can always use the extra time to catch up on some reading! Click here for a few suggestions.  Looking forward to learning with you next week, the penultimate lecture in the……

  • No Jewish History Lecture Monday April 30

    No Jewish History Lecture Monday April 30

    Good morning– Just a quick note to those who attend in person at the Mighty Avenue J campus: we will not be meeting this Monday, April 30. Planning to reconvene on Monday, May 7 with the penultimate lecture of the season–the history of the Crypto-Jews. Fascinating stuff, I think. H P.S. Seeking sponsors for the……

  • Who Was Emma Lazarus?

    Who Was Emma Lazarus?

    Can’t see the video? Please click here.

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