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

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Day 2: The Scapegoat
Day 2: The Scapegoat א׳ אלול ראש חודש אלול Wednesday, August 23, 2017 1.2 שָׂעִיר הַמִּשְׁתַּלֵּחַ–לְפִי שְׁהוּא כַּפָּרָה לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל, כּוֹהֵן גָּדוֹל מִתְוַדֶּה עָלָיו עַל לְשׁוֹן כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל: שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר “וְהִתְוַדָּה עָלָיו אֶת-כָּל-עֲוֹנֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל” (ויקרא טז,כא). שָׂעִיר הַמִּשְׁתַּלֵּחַ מְכַפֵּר עַל כָּל עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה, הַקַּלּוֹת וְהַחֲמוּרוֹת, בֵּין שֶׁעָבַר בְּזָדוֹן בֵּין שֶׁעָבַר בִּשְׁגָגָה, בֵּין שֶׁהוֹדַע לוֹ בֵּין…
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Day 1: Confession.
Day 1 ל׳ אב ראש חודש אלול Tuesday, August 22, 2017 כָּל הַמִּצְווֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה, בֵּין עֲשֵׂה בֵּין לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה—אִם עָבַר אָדָם עַל אַחַת מֵהֶן, בֵּין בְּזָדוֹן בֵּין בִּשְׁגָגָה—כְּשֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה תְּשׁוּבָה וְיָשׁוּב מֵחֶטְאוֹ, חַיָּב לְהִתְוַדּוֹת לִפְנֵי הָא–ל בָּרוּךְ הוּא: שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר “אִישׁ אוֹ–אִשָּׁה כִּי יַעֲשׂוּ מִכָּל–חַטֹּאת הָאָדָם למעול מעל בה‘ ואשמה הנפש ההיא וְהִתְוַדּוּ, אֶת–חַטָּאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ” (במדבר ה,ו–ז), זֶה…
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August 2017 Update
Please click here for the latest news: The Jews of Sepharad lecture series, our new Global Maimonides Project, and other cool things.
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The Liturgy of Anguish
Hopefully this event will be cancelled with the arrival of Moshiach, but just in case, I am really looking forward to hearing Rabbi Goldberg speak about the Kinot.
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New Series! How to Speak Like a Mensch
This is a little different: my Jewish take on SPLN 101: Fundamentals of Speech, our required undergraduate course at the mighty Avenue J campus of Touro College. Let me know what you think!
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Why I Wrote Maimonides on Teshuvah
Dedicated to the memory of my father: A new translation and commentary of Moses Maimonides’ classic work on repentance. Softcover, 253 pages, illustrations. $18 after August 3, pre-order now for special price of $9 plus shipping. 5th edition (2017) Visit bit.ly/ordermot for more details.
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Maimonides on Teshuvah
Dedicated to the memory of my father: A new translation and commentary of Moses Maimonides’ classic work on repentance. Softcover, 253 pages, illustrations. $18. Click here to order.
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The Jews of Sepharad: Fall 2017 Lectures
All lectures will be held in the Main Auditorium of the mighty Avenue J Campus 7:00 PM Free and Open to the Community Touro College 1602 Avenue J Brooklyn, NY 11230 September 11 September 18 September 25 October 2 No Class October 9 October 16 October 23 October 30 November 6 November 13…
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Study Jewish History in Moscow!
This amazing trip is now open to non-matriculated, visiting students! Join us–it promises to be a fantastic experience. Email me at abramson@touro.edu for more information.
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Who Was Rabbi Moshe Cordovero?
The sixteenth century witnessed a phenomenal, short-lived explosion of Jewish spiritual creativity, centered in the sleepy Galilean town of Safed (Tsfat). Along with greats such as Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero was one of the founders of that unusual place, attracting still more Rabbis and especially Kabbalists to the mountaintop community, including Rabbi…
The Jews of Bukhara (Denver, CO); The Jews of the Lesser Antilles; Varieties of Crypto-Jewish Identity; Wait, Alexander Hamilton was Jewish?
Looking forward to a wonderful Shabbat in the Denver Jewish community!

Our Itinerary of Discovery in the Western Caribbean
Channel Members
Premiering at 10am ET
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All-Night Jewish History Class! Chapter 7 online, Two Shabbatons in New Jersey
Are you in the Five Towns over Shavuot? Please join us at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst for a remarkable series of classes in Jewish history! We’re starting at midnight and learning all night till dawn prayers. In keeping with our theme this year of “Transformation: Personal, Communal, Global,” I’ve chosen to look at the…
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What is Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day)? A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz Online Course now Complete! Chapter 6 of The Jewish People: A History now Online
The final Ashkenazium lecture is now online! With this lecture, the online course A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz is now complete! Twelve Modules and 56 lessons in length (mostly videos). Enjoy in good health! Chapter Six of The Jewish People: A History Now Online! Over 200 pages of draft text are now available to students…
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Napoleon and the Jews of Paris; The Holocaust in Ashkenaz; Chapter 6 of Jewish History online; Renewal Fundraising Goal exceeded!
Formally emancipated in 1790-91, the rights of Jews as citizens were challenged a decade later. In his typically grandiose fashion, Napoleon addressed the question by reconvening the ancient Great Sanhedrin and asked the Jews of France twelve basic questions. The Holocaust in Ashkenaz Part 11 of The Ashkenazium Lectures, premieres today at 12:00 noon ET.…
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Should Jews Support Ukraine?; New Draft Chapter in Biblical History online; The Soviet Experience (Ashkenazium Lectures pt. 10) premieres at 12 noon ET; Thank you to Renewal Supporters!
Proud to work with Unpacked on this brief yet sophisticated discussion of a complex topic. New Draft Chapter in Biblical Jewish History now Online Very pleased to be receiving comments on the draft chapters in my forthcoming book with Koren Publishers! Students registered in the Biblical Jewish History course are welcome to read and critique.…
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Yossi needs a kidney. He’s three years old.
My friends, it’s almost Shabbos. Will you participate? Inscribe your name in the Book of Life by joining the list of donors to Renewal. Your contribution, large or small, will help them find a kidney for someone in desperate need. We can’t all be heroic altruistic kidney donors. But we can certainly be altruistic dollar…
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The Letter of the Convert; Personal Appeal; National Awakening in Ashkenaz today at 12 noon ET
900 years later, a document from the Cairo Geniza describes the tragic story of a French convert to Judaism during the Crusades Three years ago, my wife donated a kidney. Here’s why. Three years ago, on erev Yom Kippur, my wife Ilana donated a kidney to a total stranger. Although she literally gave someone the…
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Update on Forthcoming Book; Hasidim vs. Mitnagdim vs. Maskilim; Ukraine and its Jews
Here’s your opportunity to get an advance look at the first volume of my forthcoming The Jewish People: A History. Dear fellow students of Jewish History! I am in the last few months of producing the manuscript of volume one of my forthcoming book, The Jewish People: A History. I’ve been trying an experiment in…
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International Seminar on Symon Petliura (Friday, April 29, 10am ET, in Ukrainian and English)
Official languages of the seminar are Ukrainian and English, with simultaneous translation. The conference is open to the public. Here is a brief translation of the program with the full details in Ukrainian below. Petliura and “The Petliura Affair:” De(constructing) an Imperial Myth Friday, April 29, 2022, 10:00am-1:00pm ET Via Zoom: http://www.bit.ly/HREC-Petliura. Zoom address: 874…
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An 11th c. Jewish traveller from Normandy; the Sabbatean Episode at 12 noon ET; New Chapters appearing in Biblical Jewish History online course
Professor Norman Golb’s amazing, old-school discovery in the British Library collection of Geniza documents. The Sabbatean Episode (The Ashkenazium Lectures Part VI) New Chapters appearing in Biblical Jewish History Course
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A Passover Message from 418 BCE; The Mayor of Kyiv and his Jewish Grandmother; Secret History of Chad Gadya
Wishing you all a redemptive Passover season.
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Judaism in Medieval Ashkenaz; Passover and the Situation in Ukraine; The Lead Curse Tablet from Mt. Ebal; Oldest Jewish Building in France
“My parents went to Mt. Ebal and all I got was this lousy lead curse tablet.” This video is part of the Biblical Jewish History online course (click here for information and registration). Judaism in Medieval Ashkenaz (The Ashkenazium Lectures Part 3) Passover Thoughts on Jewish History and the Situation in Ukraine Lecture delivered as…
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The Situation in Ukraine; Social and Economic Foundations of Ashkenaz
The History of the Jews of Ukraine in the Context of the Current Crisis The Social and Economic Foundations of Medieval Ashkenaz Premiering today at 11:00 am EDT (New York Time). Join us for a live chat (58m). Online Courses
Visits to Synagogues in Bordeaux and Libourne (France); Another Open Letter to Jewish Participants in anti-Israel Protests re: Amsterdam; Conference Presentation on Sheptytsky and WW II
Fantastic Voyage of Discovery with Kosher River Cruises
A Difficult Conversation
Recent Conference Presentation in Toronto
Wait, Christopher Columbus was Jewish? Documentary on Roman-Jewish War now Online
Surprised how much attention this got.
Herod’s Tragic Reign
The Fatal Conflict
How Jewish Culture will Thrive after October 7; The Jews of Al-Andalus Part II
Remarks at Lander College for Men
Maimonides and the Controversy over His Work
Jews under the Visigoths II; The Spanish Golden Age
Public at 10am ET (44 minutes)
Online Courses in Jewish History



New Lecture Series: The Sweep of Sephardic History; Faith in Times of Crisis: Commemorating the Tragedy of October 7
New Lecture Series: The History of Sephardic Jewry



