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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Message to Faculty from Dean Abramson
Two brief thoughts on the momentous occasion of the beginning of the new Academic Year.
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Learning Should Be Free! Henry Abramson on Teaching Jewish History to the Global Classroom
Great conversation with Max Sklar on The Local Maximum podcast!
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Wednesday Night: Crash Course in Jewish History
Okay, this is going to be something different: four concentrated lectures on absolutely all of Jewish history, skipping the boring parts so we can cover it all. Free and open to the community; might be recorded for the Internet but depends on if anyone asks hard questions. Join us! Wednesdays in September 2019, 7:30-8:30 pm…
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Global Maimonides on Teshuvah Project Begins!
There are forty days from Rosh Hodesh Elul (today) to Yom Kippur. Please join hundreds (maybe thousands?) of students sharing in my yearly review of the classic work of Moses Maimonides on Teshuvah. Free texts and videos offered in a variety of platforms on social media. May you all have a transformative season of self-improvement,…
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Dr. Daniel Reiser to Speak at Touro College
A world-class scholar of the Holocaust speaks at Touro College.
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Secret Torah NY Discount for Jewish History Students!
I’m really looking forward to lecturing at Citi Field next month as part of the incredible Torah NY gathering. There are going to be some absolutely phenomenal speakers there, including Rabbis Moshe Elefant, Moshe Schwed, Ya’akov Trump, Stephen Weil. They have also let me know that there’s a secret 10% discount for all registrations that…
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Crash Course in Jewish History
Please join us at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst for four lectures in Jewish History! Details below.
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What’s with all the interviews this week?
This week was unusually busy for interviews! Kind of surprised that people want to talk to me about this stuff, but really glad there are others who find this research FASCINATING. Yesterday I had a great convo with Rabbi Sholom Licht for a print article in Jewish Action. Our discussion began with the Jewish History…
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Siyum Ha-Shas in the Displaced Persons Camp, 1945
“We were only a few broken Jews with two books, but…the day of the Siyum HaShas was my day of victory, the day of victory for all survivors, and the day of victory for every ‘Talmud Jew.’” The brick crematoria of Dachau had barely cooled when the surviving remnants of European Jewry were called upon…
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Torah New York!
I think Torah New York is going to be amazing! Please come by and say hello. I will be hanging out with Rabbi Moshe Schwed and Ec Birnbaum, talking about the launch of the amazing new AllDAf app for Daf Yomi study. Please click here for more information on this amazing event!
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The Sages of Provence (Jews of the Rhone, Pt. IV)
Brief discussion of the encounter of Provencal Jewry with the writings of the great Spanish thinkers and other Arabic-language material, and its impact on European Jewish history. Part of the Jews of the Rhone series, more at henryabramson.com.
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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A very special Erev Yom Kippur message
A very special message on the eve of Yom Kippur. May my wife’s heroism and generosity be a merit for her, our family, and the entire Jewish people.
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The Talmud in National Geographic!
The Talmud in National Geographic! Specifically, the tsnuami of 115 CE and the famous debate over the oven of Akhnai. Just a teaser in this little trailer for the second season (see if you can identify my voice!), the whole podcast is scheduled for release later this month. Was really a lot of fun to…
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A Haredi Rosh Yeshiva Wrote a Novel under a Pseudonym. It’s pretty good.
Here’s my review, published in the Life section of the OU.org blog: A Rosh Yeshiva Wrote a Novel Under a Pseudonym. It’s Pretty Good. Dr. Henry AbramsonSeptember 24, 2019 In the highly-polarized environment of contemporary Jewish culture, it’s easier to imagine a rosh yeshiva banning fiction than writing it. Imagine my surprise when I received a copy…
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Crash Course in Jewish History IV: Contemporary Period
Final installment of the Four-Part Crash Course in Jewish History. Thanks to everyone at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, especially the very receptive audiences. Wishing you all a Shana Tovah!
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Crash Course in Jewish History, Part III now Online!
Good morning students of Jewish history! Here’s part III of the Crash Course in Jewish History, looking at the Modern period. Thanks to everyone who came out to hear it live! Please click here for the recordings of the first two parts, and information on the final class, scheduled for Wednesday, September 25 at 7:30…
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TONIGHT: Part III, Crash Course in Jewish History
Good morning students of Jewish History! Looking forward to seeing you for the third installment in our fairly popular Crash Course in Jewish History. We’re grateful for the positive response from the live audience, not to mention an unusually large number of online views: as I write this post, the first two parts have been…
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Please Join Me at Torah NY!
Good morning students of Jewish history! I hope you have Torah NY on your calendar for Sunday, September 22, at Citi Field NY. I’m really thrilled to be speaking there on my newest project, the rather audacious Jewish History in Daf Yomi podcast, which is part of the exciting All Daf app currently under construction…
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Crash Course in Jewish History, Part II
Thank you all for coming last night. Hope you enjoy this video recording of the lecture, which covers Medieval Jewish History in a hopelessly superficial rush, from the close of the Mishnah in the 3rd century to the Spanish Expulsion in the late 15th century. Next week’s lecture will look at Modern Jewish History, picking…
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Tonight! Crash Course in Jewish History Part II
Good morning students, colleagues, and other lovers of Jewish history! Tonight (Wednesday, September 11) we are scheduled to resume our Crash Course in Jewish History with Part II, focusing on the medieval period from the compilation of the Mishnah at the turn of the 3rd century through the Spanish Expulsion of 1492. Young Israel of…
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Monday Night! Dr. Daniel Reiser and Henry Abramson at Touro College
Touro College is honored to welcome a great Israeli scholar to the Mighty Avenue J campus this Monday night at 7:00 pm sharp. Dr. Daniel Reiser, winner of the Yad Vashem Prize for Holocaust Research and the World Union of Jewish Studies Prize for the Best Book on Jewish Thought, will speak about his pathbreaking…
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Ancient Israel (Crash Course in Jewish History, Pt. 1)
Please enjoy this recording of the first in our new four-part series, Crash Course in Jewish History, offered this month at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst. More information available by clicking here.
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Optional Readings for Crash Course in Jewish History
Crash Course in Jewish History (for very intelligent people) Extra Credit Readings for First Class: Wednesday, September 4, 2019 (privileges will be revoked for anyone who asks hard questions) Ancient History Wednesday, September 4, 2019 What is Jewish History? Peter Steinfels, “Salo Baron, 94, Scholar of Jewish History, Dies,” New York Times, November 26, 1989. 2.…
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
Jewish Resilience After October 7; American Jews, Post-Honeymoon; The Jews of Al-Andalus
Three Strategies
Jews under the Visigoths II; The Spanish Golden Age
Public at 10am ET (44 minutes)
Online Courses in Jewish History
Jewish Life in Visigothic Spain; Commemorating October 7
This is one of the most bizarre periods of Jewish history, and that’s saying a lot.
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
