Really looking forward seeing my friends at YILC!

Lectures in Jewish History and Thought. No hard questions, please.





Lecture on Count Emicho and the Jews of Germany during the First Crusade (1096). Here’s a link to the Prezi.
Please enjoy this week’s column in the Five Towns Jewish Times! http://5tjt.com/the-kuzari/
Traveling on College business. Sorry to all my loyal in-person students! Please forward this message to your friends (no need to send it to your former friends–if they show up, it serves them right, eh?).
Please enjoy this week’s column in the Five Towns Jewish Times! http://5tjt.com/mesilat-yesharim/

Presentation on the history of the Khazar conversion to Judaism, with updated material based on recent research.
Please enjoy my latest feature in the Five Towns Jewish Times! http://5tjt.com/people-of-the-book-classic-works-of-the-jewish-tradition-3/

Lecture on the great 2nd-century Rabbi Meir, one of the most important figures in the history of Jewish thought in ancient Israel. Here’s the link to the Prezi.

People of the Book: Classics of the Jewish Tradition Please click here for the original article in the Five Towns Jewish Times by Dr. Henry Abramson Rabbi Moshe Cordovero’s ‘Tomer Devorah’ “Even if you cannot find any reason to forgive a person, there was nevertheless once a time when this person did no wrong. Think…

Lecture on Against Apion, an important literary response to antisemitism in the Roman Empire written by the 1st century historian Flavius Josephus. And here’s the Prezi: http://prezi.com/yzmhlmrhf2ac/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy.

We begin the Fall 2015 Lectures in Jewish History series with a presentation on the life and work of Judah (Yehudah) Maccabee, famed military commander of the Hasmonean revolt. Enjoy in good health! Here’s the link to the Prezi.

Please enjoy my first column in the Five Towns Jewish Times! People of the Book: Classic Works of the Jewish Tradition By Dr. Henry Abramson According to my knowledge of the words of the Sages and the history of the Jewish people in general, we have never experienced such horrific suffering as has been visited…


Ancient Jewish History from Abraham to Bar Kochba. Really excited to announce this new online course! Please click here for course information and registration.

A brief overview of one of the major early battles in the Chanukah revolt in 166 BCE.

Really looking forward to meeting students of the Ashkenazium in Budapest in January! Here’s the online course I set up to prepare them for the lectures. It’s open to the public as well. Enjoy in good health!

The Jewish History Lab lecture series resumes with live, in-person meetings at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst on Wednesday nights at 7:30 pm. Free and open to the community! Zoom link available to YILC members and their guests. YouTube Channel members (Colleagues): please check your Community Tab for the link.
Six brief videos chronicling the 2021 journey with Kosher Riverboat Cruises up the Douro River to Salamanca, Spain and back through Portugal. A wonderful fantastic look at the rich history of Jews in the Iberian Peninsula, from the earliest settlement in Roman colonies (possibly earlier!) through the Visigoths, then the brief but brilliant Golden Age…
A brief discussion of the sudden rise of Kabbalistic study in 16th century Safed (Tsfat, Tsfas).
Today at 12:30 pm ET: a brief discussion of the stage of Jewish religious/literary activity that began in the 16th century, collectively known as the period of the Aharonim (the latter ones, distinguishing them from the Rishonim, or earlier ones).
Good morning fellow students of Jewish history! Join me at 1pm today for a brief discussion of the medieval origins of the once large Jewish population of Poland and Eastern Europe.
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…