Today was an absolutely fascinating day of discovery of Jewish history, exploring the 14th century synagogue in Carpentras, France: the second-oldest currently functioning synagogue in Europe. There are so many amazing things to view, so I’ve decided to break it up into several small videos, starting with this one, which looks at the entrance to…

Expelled 500 years ago, a traces of medieval Jewish life yet remain in this city on the Rhone river.

Gut moed students of Jewish history! Peter Gwin of National Geographic just released a podcast discussing the research of Dr. Beverly Goodman, a marine archaeologist at the University of Haifa. She’s spent years studying the mysterious destruction of Herod’s port at Caesaria, and argues that it was destroyed in the tsunami of 115. Besides the…

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…

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…

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…

Please join this new online course on the History of the Holocaust, free and open to the public. YouTube lectures supplemented with self-testing quizzes and other materials. Why was Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Persecuted by Fellow Jews?

A discussion of the ubiquitous dedicatory plaques in Synagogue history.

What is a Synagogue? 3. A Place of Rejoicing (Dura Europos and YILC) Thank G-d, the hostages in Colleyville, Texas, have been released to safety. Jews all over the world breathe a sigh of relief, and express gratitude to the law enforcement officers for their protection. After the attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh in 2018…

Tomorrow is the tenth of Shvat, an important day of the calendar of Chabad Hasidim. On this day in 1950 the 6th Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, passed away; one year later his son-in-law Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson took over the leadership of Lubavitch Hasidim. His role at the helm of Chabad was truly transformational,…

Moses Maimonides was one of the greatest scholars of medieval Jewish history, yet his works were hardly without controversy in his day. This video (48m) surveys his life and work, with emphasis on the subsequent controversies and their resolution.

Good morning fellow students of Jewish History! The Jews of Hungary (A Very Quick Survey!) The Remarkable Wooden Synagogue of Gwoździec, Poland Aryeh at 29%! Great Progress towards his Goal of Representing Team USA at the 2022 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem!

My wife Ilana and I are proud to serve as the Guests of Honour (note the Canadian spelling, very considerate of them) at the time 41st Annual Dinner of the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, together with the Young Leadership Awardees Gila and Alan Goldberg. We are enthusiastic participants in YILC, a wonderful community resource under…

Proud to address the famous Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst Teshuvah Haburah (at first I thought they were all about repentance, but in reality it’s a group of highly intelligent people who gather to discuss Rabbinic Responsa, also good). Please join in person tonight at 9pm ET or via zoom: bit.ly/YILCSHUT, passcode is yilctorah.

European Jews Achieve Citizenship Good morning fellow students of Jewish history! Please join me at 11:30 am ET for a half-hour discussion of the emancipation of the Jews of Western Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Help Aryeh achieve his goal! I’m very proud of our teenage son Aryeh, selected to participate…

Hello fellow students of Jewish history! Here’s something historic, at least in terms of the Abramson family: our teenage son Aryeh has been selected to represent Team USA at the 2022 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem! His sport is Shotokan Karate. It’s a kind of a family tradition now: his older sister Aliza competed four years…

Very honored to serve as a Scholar-In-Residence this Shabbos, parshas Vayehi, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, New York. Please view the video for the planned public talks (which will not be recorded, of course). Friday Night, December 17, 8pm Rabbis Who, If they had the Temerity to Show up in Our Shuls today……

Good morning fellow students of Jewish history: please join me for this week’s series of video premieres (with live chat), live in-person and zoom classes. We’ll be looking at the 18th century with some forays into Jewish art history and the controversy that led the Jews of France to torch Maimonides’ works in 1232. Here’s…