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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Faculty Colloquium Invitation
Videoconference link: Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/7186385458 Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +14086380968,7186385458# or +16465588656,7186385458# Or Telephone: Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll) Meeting ID: 718 638 5458 International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=30Usrg3JHXCdvXk7rk3huvZeSoE2JRQ9 RSVP Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/touro-college-avenue-j-faculty-colloquium-dr-henry-abramson-tickets-32120484233
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Who Was Saadia Gaon? LettersFlyingFree Part III
Responding to the attraction of Islamic philosophy to Jews living in Muslim lands, Sa’adia composed a highly influential work in the 10th-century Kalam style that influenced generations of thinkers. A pugnacious and principled thinker, he engaged in several heated debates with politically powerful rivals including David ben Zakkai, who forced Sa’adia into exile. When ben…
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Who Was Joshua?
The Bible describes how the Jewish people, emerging from Egyptian servitude and decades of wandering in the Sinai desert, followed Joshua’s military leadership to conquer the Land of Israel and establish the ancient foundations of their Torah-centered society. This lecture will survey the archeological and historical record to understand the larger context of the Biblical…
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Who Was Rav Kook?
Mystic and early Zionist, Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook’s challenging and eclectic philosophy has inspired generations of Jews since his passing in 1935. Often misunderstood, Rav Kook’s role as one of the principal Rabbinic figures of the era was foundational for establishing a religious ideology for the the modern, secular and democratic state of Israel.
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Who Was Emma Goldman?
“If I can’t dance to it, it isn’t my revolution!” A fiery orator and fearless iconoclast, Emma Goldman was one of the most notorious and controversial left-wing thinkers of turn-of-the 20th century America.
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Who Was Franz Kafka?
Titled “poet of shame and guilt” by a recent biographer, Franz Kafka’s early twentieth-century writings have challenged generations of readers worldwide. Inspired in part by his early infatuation with his Jewish background, his haunting and opaque tales continued to be studied as statements of the modern condition.
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Who Was Janusz Korczak?
Heroic pioneer of modern educational theory, Henryk Goldszmit (who wrote under the pen name Janusz Korzcak) ran an orphanage in the beleaguered Warsaw Ghetto, ultimately accompanying his youthful charges to the gas chambers of Treblinka.
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Who Was the Chazon Ish?
Widely regarded as one of the most brilliant experts in Jewish law of the twentieth century, the Chazon Ish played a major role in the development of the modus vivendi between secular and religious Israelis.
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Who Was Elie Wiesel?
Elie Wiesel was a Nobel laureate for literature and a relentless champion of human rights. His best known work is Night, based on his experiences in the Holocaust.
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Who Was Abraham?
Named in the Torah as “the father of many peoples,” Abraham the Patriarch is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims as the original proponent of monotheism. This lecture will survey what the archeological and historical record reveals about the demographic, economic, and cultural environment in Israel when the Patriarchs and Matriarchs walked the land.
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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Janusz Korczak: Monday Night!
From Betty Jean Lifton’s biography, citing Korczak’s memoirs of his years working in the Jewish Orphanage of Warsaw (How to Love a Child): An eight-year old boy woke with a toothache. Grabbing Korczak’s hand, he spilled out his anguish: “…then my mother died. Then I was sent to my grandmother, but she also died. Then…
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Janusz Korczak, Heroic Defender of Children
“Korczak felt that within each child there burned a moral spark that could vanquish the darkness at the core of human nature.” (Betty Jean Lifton) https://www.crowdrise.com/friends-of-jewish-history/fundraiser/avenuej
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So is #givingtuesday a thing, or what?
If so, here’s two great causes to add to your list. Jewish History @ Avenue J Scholarship Fund goes directly to support undergraduate students at the Mighty Avenue J campus of Touro College. Friends of Jewish History supports the public Jewish history lecture series. Nu? Make your Bubbie proud, do something good. Thanks! (Can’t see the…
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Franz Kafka and the Ramchal: The Week Ahead in Jewish History
Here’s an experimental introductory video–let me know what you think! https://www.crowdrise.com/friends-of-jewish-history/fundraiser/avenuej
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Here’s Your Chance to Be a Mentsch!
Friends and colleagues! One of our core values is that high-quality, academic information on Jewish history should be FREE. We’re very proud of our altruistic approach, and we don’t want to change. At the same time, we have a Jewish History student intern to support, a shoestring advertising budget to spread the word, and of…
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Who Was Emma Goldman? Video Now Online!
“If I can’t dance to it, it isn’t my revolution!” A fiery orator and fearless iconoclast, Emma Goldman was one of the most notorious and controversial left-wing thinkers of turn-of-the 20th century America. Sponsor a lecture in the Jewish History @ J Series! https://www.crowdrise.com/friends-of-jewish-history/fundraiser/avenuej
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Donations from Max Sklar, Suzanne Parella; last chance for sponsors for Emma Goldman lecture
Good morning fans of Jewish History! Really pleased to have positive response on the beautiful Jewish History bookmarks we’ve been sending out (send your mailing address if you’d like one)! Thanks to donors Max Sklar and Suzanne Parella who recently contributed to the Jewish History Scholarship Fund for our students. Meanwhile, we’re still looking for…
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The Maimonidean Controversy
Brief overview of the controversy that surrounded the writings of Rabbi Moses Maimonides. Lecture delivered at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst.
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RED EMMA SEEKS SPONSORS!
Love Jewish history, especially when spiced with radical politics? Consider clicking right here to sponsor Monday night’s lecture on Emma Goldman, dubbed “the most dangerous woman in America” by the FBI! Here’s a video featuring a few of her comments after briefly returning to America fifteen years after she was deported to the Soviet Union. My favorite…
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Sold-Out Shabbaton in Toronto!
Hello fans of Jewish History! Just an important reminder that we will NOT be having a lecture in Brooklyn on Monday, November 14, 2016. I’ll be returning from Toronto, where I’m serving as a scholar-in-residence at the Westmount Shul and Learning Center. I’m honored that the paid events are sold out, but guests are welcome…
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Who Was Rav Kook?
Mystic and early Zionist, Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook’s challenging and eclectic philosophy has inspired generations of Jews since his passing in 1935. Often misunderstood, Rav Kook’s role as one of the principal Rabbinic figures of the era was foundational for establishing a religious ideology for the the modern, secular and democratic state of Israel.
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



