Category Archives: Uncategorized

Please join us for a brief (24m) discussion of the first century of the Sephardic diaspora.

Wishing everyone a blessed New Year!

Is it possible that the classic works of the Jewish ethical tradition are literary reactions to personal crises? Can we approach the great works of Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto and others as strong responses to devastating reversals in their personal lives?

Please join me at 12pm (ET, New York Time) for a live chat on this thesis.

Wishing you all a גמר וחתימה טובה, a successful conclusion to the High Holy Days, and all blessings for 5782 and beyond.

HMA

GM–Join me today at 12 noon ET (New York Time) for a premiere and live chat on the origins of the Jews of India.

I was delighted to participate in this in-depth, far-reaching conversation with the talented and insightful editor of @DerVeker, who insisted on asking a lot of hard questions. How’s your Yiddish?

This is an absolutely fascinating topic, I really enjoyed the research! Please join me for a live chat and video of Jewish Migration Patterns, followed by a longer look at the remarkable history of the Jews of China. Starting at 1pm ET (New York Time).

I enjoyed this conversation. Hope you find it meaningful as well!

Good morning fellow students of Jewish History!

1. In a few hours we’ll premiere a video on a topic that receives very little attention in Jewish history: the experience of Jews in the Byzantine Empire. Just a brief video for now (12m), but I hope to expand it in the print version. Join me for a live chat today!

2. I’m pleased that so many people enjoyed my personal recommendations for Elul reading (video below). I plan to expand on this discussion in a Iive class hosted by Beth Jacob congregation. YouTube channel members (Colleagues) are invited to a live lecture on Wednesday night at 7:30 PT (10:30 New York time), details in the channel announcements.

3. Since many of my students at Touro College are signed up for regular updates, I’d like to remind them of our new vaccine mandate protocols. Here’s a quick video with information on what’s involved.

Have an excellent week!

HMA

Good morning fellow students of Jewish history!

Today is the Rosh Hodesh Elul, the beginning of the month of Elul, initiating the annual season of introspection leading up to the High Holidays. I’ve prepared this brief video that surveys some of the most important works of the literary tradition that make up the loosely-organized Mussar Canon. It’s a personal rather than exhaustive list, but I hope you find it useful.

Wishing you all a good Hodesh and a successful period of self-development!

HMA

Join me at 12 noon (ET) for a live chat on this topic.

Here’s the link to the controversial video (my part starts around 41:00).