Really looking forward seeing my friends at YILC!

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





Hey! I even got my picture in the paper with this article. Enjoy in good health! http://5tjt.com/history-of-the-jews/

Lecture on the life and work of Dona Gracia Nasi (also known as Beatrice de Luna Mendes), a heroic Jewish woman of the 16th century. Fleeing the Inquisition in Portugal, she used her considerable wealth and courage to spirit converso Jews out of Europe to refuge in Ottoman lands. Here’s the Prezi for this lecture:http://prezi.com/ezegvhtrjraf/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Jewish History @ Avenue J, 7:00-8:00 pm. A community project of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences, 1602 Avenue J, Brooklyn NY 11230. Admission is free.

Please enjoy this week’s People of the Book column in the Five Towns Jewish Times! http://5tjt.com/milchamot-hashem/
Celebrating Hanukkah! We are scheduled to resume on Monday, December 14 at 7 pm with a presentation on Dona Gracia Nasi.

Lecture on Avraham ben HaRambam, an important Jewish leader and scholar of 13th century Egypt. Best known as the son of the illustrious Maimonides, Avraham Maimuni was a brilliant thinker whose descendants led the Jewish community of Egypt for nearly 200 years. Here’s the link to the Prezi: http://prezi.com/3apfvk1ctjkg/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

My son Alexander is once again running for Team Friendship in the Miami Marathon this January. Please enjoy this video that features his effort for this worthy cause, and support him at http://www.miami.teamfriendship.org/Alex!

By popular demand, I’ve set up a new playlist of my lectures that cater to students of the Jewish roots of Christianity and selected lectures on the experience of Jews living in Christian lands. Enjoy in good health!
Please enjoy this week’s column in the Five Towns Jewish Times, a discussion of the memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln, a remarkable woman from 17th-century Germany.

Live in Boca Raton! Looking forward to speaking at the Chabad of West Boca. Click here to RSVP!

Please enjoy this week’s article in the Five Towns Jewish Times. http://5tjt.com/chofetz-chaim/


I read the Mueller Report (yes, the whole thing). You should too. Here’s some useful shortcuts if you need them.

Another opportunity for social media creep into your life! But this stuff is interesting, actually.

Great for magidei shiur: an index to over 150 videos on Jewish History in Daf Yomi! Over 2,600 more on the way.

From the legend of Vespasian’s rudderless ships to the expulsion of 1494.

Arakhin, traditionally pronounced “Erchin” in Ashkenazi circles, begins tomorrow. Now’s your chance to join the worldwide community of Daf Yomi learners! Click here for more information on this unusual tractate. Kudos to Rabbi Moshe Schwed, Director of the OU Daf Yomi Initiative, for putting together this really nice promo for my small contribution, Jewish History…

Archelaus, son of Herod. Okay, probably not really the first Jew, and it wasn’t France then, but close enough.

Click here for my latest guest post on the Orthodox Union Torah blog: “Want to lose weight? Start Daf Yomi.“

“Leadership” is the theme for our learning at YILC this Shavuot. Here’s my small contribution. All are welcome!

Hello students of Jewish history! I’m really thrilled to inform you that the Jewish History in Daf Yomi podcast is now online! Part of the OU Daf Yomi Initiative, the podcasts feature brief (2-5 minute) videos discussing some historical aspect of the daily page of Talmud (Daf Yomi). Obviously most relevant to those actually studying…

This is what historians think about during Passover.