Lectures in Jewish History and Thought. No hard questions, please.
A brief look at the social and economic background of the post-Talmudic era in Baghdad, with an important digression into the 8th-10th century revolution in information technology that helped propel the authority and influence of the Geonim. The following video will look at the early history of North Africa, an area influenced by their scholarship but with a fascinating origin story as well. Join us for a live chat at 12 noon (New York time).
Premiering today at 12:00 noon ET.
Preliminary remarks on the study of the Jews in Africa, followed by The Jews of Ethiopia (origins to 1862). Premiering today at 12 noon ET.
Note: for some reason this particular topic attracts an unusual amount of inappropriate commentary. Scholarly, collegial discussion is welcomed here; but I intend to remove hateful remarks, and commentators who flagrantly disrespect others will be blocked from the channel. If this becomes too onerous a task I will simply turn off comments on the video. Please respect the learning community who gather here to discuss Jewish history.
Recommended reading:
Tudor Parfitt, Black Jews in Africa and the Americas (Harvard, 2013)
Steven Kaplan, The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia: From Earliest Tiems to the Twentieth Century (New York University, 1992).
Jewish History Lab Report February 12, 2021
Jewish History Lab Lectures Scheduled for Next Week (Advance access for YouTube channel members at the Student Level)
49. Early Jewish Settlement in Spain (Scheduled for Sunday @ 1:00 PM ET)
50. Jews in Visigothic Spain (Scheduled for Monday @1:00 PM ET)
Researchers: The Amazing Journey of Yisrael Aharoni (hopefully releasing today, maybe early next week)
Colleagues: Live Classes:
Conversation with High School Students in Toronto Monday, February 15th, 8:30 PM ET
Becoming the People of the Byte: The Internet, the Talmud, and the Future of the Jewish People Tuesday, February 16th, 7:30 PM PT (10:30 ET)
Jews and the Birth of Islam Wednesday, February 17, 7:30 PM ET
Wednesday is open to channel members at the Colleague level: please contact me at henry@henryabramson.com if you need the link. Monday and Tuesday will require permission from the organizers, but write me early and I’ll see if we can put it together.
Have a wonderful Shabbos, weekend, and Rosh Hodesh Adar! HMA
Jewish History Lab Report for February 5, 2021.
Videos dropping next week (advance viewing for Students now available):
Researchers video:
Colleagues Live Class on Wednesday: Jews in Visigothic Iberia
Other Publications:
The German Convert who Illustrated the Maxwell House Haggadah
Have an excellent Shabbos! Looking forward to learning more Jewish history with you next week.
HMA
Good morning fellow students of Jewish History! Do you watch the Jewish History Lab series? If so, please contribute your thoughts in this brief, anonymous survey. We’ll be starting the second semester later this month, and I value your opinion! https://bit.ly/jhljanuary2021
Sunday, January 10, 8pm. Sponsored by Congegration Darchei Noam of Fair Lawn, NJ.
Register at dno.am/5781/webinar.
Hello fellow students of Jewish history!
I hope this message finds you and your loved ones healthy and secure.
Just a brief note to let you know the website will have some reduced functionality over the next week or so. I like to take the turn-over of the Gregorian calendar to renovate and reorganize my digital life. Some pages may not be visible for a while, but I think you’ll like the end result once it’s all organized.
In the meantime, the Jewish History Lab lectures are continuing as scheduled. The Bar Kochba Rebellion is scheduled to release on Sunday at 1 pm New York time.
Wishing you all an excellent 2021,
HMA
Some historical reflections on the Fast of the 10th of Tevet.
The following eight brief videos are scheduled for release over the holiday (two on Friday morning, none on Saturday), looking at the Maccabean revolt and some aspects of the development of the Chanukah festival over the centuries. Enjoy in good health, but warning up front: some of them appear to have been written by the Grinch who stole Chanukah!
Henry Abramson 