“Nicholas Copernicus’ book “On the Revolution of the Earth Around the Sun” should be suspended…and that all similar works which contain these teachings should be prohibited.” (Bishop of Albano, March 1616) “Nicholas Copernicus, a scholar of genius…in this domain man is completely at liberty to discover the theory which seems to him to be most…

Battling unseasonably frigid temperatures, Alexander heroically completed his fourth full marathon in Miami today! A tremendous achievement! Most importantly, with your support he surpassed his fundraising target, bringing in a total of $3,299 for Friendship Circle, helping children with autism and other disorders! Congratulations to Alexander, and thank you all for participating!

Jewish History @ Avenue J A Community Project of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences 1602 Avenue J Monday Nights, 7-8pm Free and Open to the Community Lectures by Dean Henry Abramson No hard questions, please. February 2016: Jews of the Seventeenth Century Feb 1. David Gans Scientist, historian and theologian, Rabbi Gans bridged the…

Questions about college? Like to know more about our academic programs, financial aid and scholarships, earning college credit while learning in Israel? Attend our Virtual Open House, this evening from 7-8 pm! Please click here to RSVP (or visit las.touro.edu) and we will happily send you the link to view the presentation and participate in…

Students and parents! Interested in learning more about study at the mighty Avenue J campus of Touro College in Flatbush? Please join me in our Virtual Open House on Monday, January 11 at 7 pm! I’ll present some essential information on our academic programs and provide the basics on Financial Aid, Scholarships, and our very popular Israel…

(Well, not Yehudah Ha-Levi, but a lecture about the great Spanish-Jewish poet-philosopher of the 12th century). With Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum. 

Sponsored by Brandon Sultan in honor of the Sultan and Benarroch Families, whose Sephardic roots are expressed in a desire to honor the Convivencia; and also in loving memory of Mrs. Jean Milstein, whose relentless optimism was an inspiration to all.

Someone told me that this was printed in The Vues. I’m not a Rabbi, but I’m kind of pleased that Ari Hirsch asked for my opinion anyway. Makes me feel like I actually belong in Brooklyn, somehow, if I’m included in this paper known as “the Heimishe Voice.”

The last weeks of winter 1942, ironically, represented a kind of plateau for the Jews of Warsaw. The typhus epidemic abated, and the Nazis had established some work facilities (“shops”) that led many to believe that through productive labor, the Jews would endure. The general feeling was, in the words of historians Barbara Engelking and…

The life and times of an important woman of the early post-Expulsion generation of Sephardic Jews. Can’t see the video? Click here please.

We’re starting on Monday! Please visit http://www.jewishhistorylectures.org for details on the schedule. Free and open to the community, Monday nights at 7:00 pm at the mighty Avenue J campus of Touro College, 1602 Avenue J, Brooklyn NY 11230. Call (718) 535-9333 or write to me at henry.abramson@touro.edu. Some sponsorships are still available ($250 per lecture),…

Searching for an escapee from the notorious Pawiak Prison, the Nazis arrested 255 Jewish leaders in the Warsaw Ghetto, holding them hostage and demanding that the community turn over the 21-year old resistance fighter Andrzej Kott. The rebel was not found. The Jewish hostages were eventually killed.  The Rebbe was forced to spend that Sabbath…

  Just got my first copy of the hardcover edition of Torah from the Years of Wrath: The Historical Context of the Aish Kodesh. Special thanks to Mr. Sam Sapozhnik for making this possible! The hardcover edition hasn’t migrated yet to Amazon, but the good news is that I can offer my students, colleagues and friends 20%…

I’m really thrilled to be cruising the Douro River this summer with Kosher Riverboat Cruises, lecturing on the history of Spanish and Portuguese Jewry (my wife plans to come along, which means I really have to bring my A-game). I just learned that there’s only 18 cabins left, so if you’re interested, please click the…

On Parashat Beshalah (January 20, 1940), a young rebel escaped from the notorious Pawiak Prison, located not far from the Piaseczno Bet Midrash. Andrzej Kott, the 21-year old leader of the military wing of a resistance movement called the Polish People’s Independence Action, was a child of assimilated Jewish parents who had converted to Christianity.…