Thanks to Ben Rothke for this kind review of Torah from the Years of Wrath in this week’s Jewish Link of New Jersey. I am very grateful to be a part of the community that values and spreads the teachings of the Piaseczno Rebbe; nice to see positive reviews! Keeping the Faith By Ben Rothke…

  Hello everyone– My father’s yortsayt is coming up next week, and as in previous years I hope to begin another cycle of study of Maimonides on Teshuvah. Please visit the Maimonides on Teshuvah page page to learn more about how to participate in this free, Global Study of Maimonides program. Posts will also appear…

Their screams suffuse the entire universe, and yet the universe does not revert to primordial waters. It continues to exist as if completely unaffected, Heaven forbid.

It was about this time of year, five hundred years ago, when we were refugees seeking asylum in Portugal. Then they seized our children. If we don’t care about what has been happening to migrant families today—shame on us.

Hoping that Moshiach will arrive before July 22. If not, then this is a great time to listen to the insights of Rabbi Zev Goldberg on the traditional Kinot. I’ll provide historical context. We did this last year and it was really meaningful. Hopefully this is the last Tisha B’Av we will have to mark…

July brought new tribulations upon the Jewish community as the Nazis, energized by their victories on the western front, formally eliminated virtually every non-governmental organization in the General Government. Charitable agencies, cultural leagues, and of course political groups were abolished, for both Jews and Poles. The ghetto population increased by tens of thousands as Jews…

My fourteen-year old son was the first to see the damage, and you gave me the precious opportunity to teach him some ancient truths about our long-standing relationship.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Zev Brenner of the famous Talkline last week; really pleased that there’s a lot of interest in the work of the Piaseczno Rebbe. The broadcast was aired last Saturday night and will be rebroadcast again tonight at 8pm EST on WSNR AM 620. Here’s the link to the…

Dean Boylan has been a mentor of mine since I joined Touro in 2006. Proud to be with him this morning at the Harvard Club as he receives the Education Update Outstanding Educator of the Year Award. With Dean Moshe Sokol of Lander College for Men and Executive Dean Robert Goldschmidt of the Mighty Avenue…

Is it possible for a person to be struck and not experience physical pain?

Meet Mr. Hunter Ross Loren, a precocious 13-year old who, together with his uncle Alan Loren, contacted me this week to discuss Jewish history. Hunter is an avid fan of Jewish history–especially, of all things, the Jews of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth–and he is probably my youngest student online. As a follow-up to his Bar Mitzvah,…

Some thoughts on COVID-19 in a Jewish context, recently published in OU Torah. Judaism, as we know it today, bears the scars of multiple plagues throughout history. Perhaps the largest is the weeks-long period known as sefirah, which commemorates the death of 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century. The Rabbis of the…

Hello students of Jewish history! I hope you will have the opportunity to join me in one of three public presentations coming up. Here’s the relevant dates and times! Please click on the images for the links: The State of Israel: I SURVIVED JEWISH HISTORY, PT. XI Monday night, May 3 at 8PM EST, YouTube…

Now open to non-Touro College faculty! Please RSVP to James.Ligorski@touro.edu.

Part XI of the I SURVIVED JEWISH HISTORY series. If you have attended the previous Zoom classes, the link is still active; if not, please write me directly for the password.

Live chat moderated by The Shomer. Join us for a look at this very difficult period in Jewish history.

Pleased to host this Virtual Open House for Machon L’Parnasa Institute for Professional Studies, together with Director Esther Braun, on Tuesday April 28 at 11:00 am. Click on the image or visit http://machon.touro.edu/events/list/virtual-open-house-42820.php to RSVP!

Hello students of Jewish history– I SURVIVED JEWISH HISTORY resumes Wednesday night at 7:30 pm EST with a lecture on the Holocaust. The Zoom link is protected, please email me directly for the password.

Henry Abramson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: I SURVIVED JEWISH HISTORYTime: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/936125057?pwd=dGhaVGY4bCtLSk1oTjNOTk5Ddk95dz09 Meeting ID: 936 125 057Password: 000153

Tonight at 7:30 pm EST: Part VIII of the I SURVIVED JEWISH HISTORY SERIES, looking at the birth of Hasidism in the context of 18th and 19th century Russian history, the reaction of the Mitnagdim, and the influence of the Haskalah. Zoom information (note password: 000153): Topic: I SURVIVED JEWISH HISTORY Wednesday, March 25, 7:30…