Are Jews White? Wuhsha the Broker from the Cairo Geniza! Three New Videos on Medieval Ashkenaz (including the Erfurt Horde)

Really impressed with the amazing team at Unpacked!

Very proud to have a small share in putting this video together.


Three New Videos on Medieval Ashkenaz

Premieres at 10am ET

View the whole playlist here:


Wuhsha the Broker: An Amazing Story from the Cairo Geniza

Yael and Schwab ar the ULTIMATE Jewish history Nerds! Very thrilled that the second season of our podcast has been hitting top ranking in the charts since we began. Click here to enjoy this new episode in good health!

Debunked: Did Jews Run the Slave Trade? Who was Carl Lutz? Jews, Art and the Medieval Economy; The Italian Village that Invented Judaism from Scratch

Ever wonder why Havdalah Boxes look like little towers?


Who was Carl Lutz?


Another complex and powerful video from the team at Unpacked


Meet this 20th c. Italian Villager who Invented Judaism from scratch

The story of Danuto Manduzio and the Jews of San Nicandro, Italy.

The 17th Century Jewish Woman from the Ghetto of Venice who Struck Back; The truly twisted Antisemite who pretended to be a Jewish Talmud student for 19 Years; and an Interview with Some Guy

While I was in Budapest with the Ashkenazium, two really amazing episodes of the Jewish History Nerds podcast dropped.

Fantastic experience working with Yael, Schwab and Rivky at Jewish History Nerds! Click here for the latest episodes: Sara Copia Sullam and Johannes Eisenmenger, or wherever you get your free podcasts.


Great Conversation with Jeff Cohen of From Saturday to Shabbos! I probably overshared.

Please click here to listen in. I definitely get points for answering the first question correctly, the rest I’m not so sure.


Most important line on this poster is at the bottom: “The Language of the Symposium is English.” Translation of the poster is below. Videos are forthcoming from the Ashkenazium on their YouTube channel, some clips on Facebook.

The Holy Fire Symposium Begins Tonight

Join Dr. Daniel Reiser, Dr. Michael Chighel and myself for a discussion of the life and works of the holy Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapiro.

The schedule of presentations and discussions is available here. Admission is free, but you have to be in Budapest: Duna utca 1, 18:00. For those of you who live elsewhere, we are planning to record the lectures and broadcast later on the Ashkenazium channel.

Saga of Soviet Jewry in Brooklyn (Thursday night); Jews, State and Church in Early Ashkenaz; Season 2 of Jewish History Nerds Podcast begins with King Herod!

Really looking forward to speaking in the Holy City of Brooklyn for Project inspire! Please join us.


Jewish History Nerds, Season 2, begins with King Herod!

Really enjoy working with Yael, Schwab and Rivky at Unpacked! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.


Birth of Ashkenaz Series Continues: New Videos!

Three Jewish Roman Soldiers? In Germany? In the FIRST CENTURY BCE???; The Birth of Ashkenaz in Budapest; New Unpacked Videos

This is just an amazing find.


The Birth of Ashkenaz: Graduate Seminar in Budapest this May

Thrilled to be returning to the Ashkenazium later this summer to spend time with some really brilliant European students looking at the Birth of Ashkenaz. Here’s the course description, please visit https://www.ashkenazium.eu for more information:

A survey of the earliest Jewish communities of Europe that formed the nucleus of Ashkenazic civilization, 900-1400 CE. Population movements from northern Italy and the Iberian Peninsula will be studied, as well as the early medieval charters that established the legal basis for Jewish settlement. Emphasis will be placed on the unique characteristics of the Ashkenazic experience, and how they led to lasting innovations in communal organization and cultural development. Unfortunately the course will be taught by a Litvak, with absolutely no sense of humour, but Hasidim will be standing by to resuscitate as necessary.

A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz
A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz

New Unpacked Videos

Very pleased to be working closely with the really talented, amazing team at Unpacked. Here’s a few new videos to which I had the privilege of contributing.

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