Proud parent: Aryeh running to support ADI Negev Very proud of our son Aryeh, raising funds to support the Respiratory Therapy and Hydrotherapy programs at ADI Negev, an institute that celebrates Ability, promotes Diversity and insists on Inclusion. Join us in supporting his worthy efforts! Please click here for more information: https://adi-il.org/campaign/aryeh-abramson/ How did Jews get to Africa…

Ach, here we go again. Who is a Jew, anyway? Join me for a discussion of the long history of Jewish communities of color, beginning with some historical observations relating to the current version of the perennial “Who is a Jew” debate. Register for free at https://bit.ly/JEWSOFCOLOR. The Genetic History of Ashkenazi Jews Related, strangely,…

What happens when two young Jewish history nerds start to schmooze? This. Visiting the Jewish Community of Mexico City Upcoming Lectures Brief discussion with Dr. Daniel Fainstein, Dean of Jewish Studies at Universidad Hebraica (in English)

Join us Wednesday Night (7:30 pm) at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhust Interview with Dr. Daniel Fainstein of the Universidad Ebraíca, Mexico City I recently spent several days in Mexico City getting to know this fascinating community (more video forthcoming!). Here’s a conversation I had with my colleague Daniel Fainstein, Dean of Jewish Studies at Universidad…

Explora tu Judaísmo at Limmud Mexico this Shabbat! Very honored to share the stage with James Carroll, author of the National Book Award-winning Constantine’s Sword this coming Shabbat at Limmud Mexico. Our joint keynote address will focus on the topic of “Jews in the Christian Mind; Christians in the Jewish Mind.” I’ll be speaking on…

Fascinating Jewish History in Venice! Yahrzeit of the Piaseczno Rebbe (Aish Kodesh) Meaningful People Podcast Interview Thanks to all who have sent kind words about the podcast version of this interview. I thought it went well, here’s the YouTube version.

Had a great time speaking with Nachi and Momo of Meaningful People podcast. The conversation was a little personal, a little irreverent, but even a little deep. Hope I didn’t overshare! Here’s the link: https://www.meaningfulpeoplepodcast.com/podcast/episode/3a28c3d3/dr-henry-abramson-or-uncovering-the-gems-of-our-past Nicolo Matas grave marker confirmed Last week I discussed the remarkable story of the Jewish architect Nicolo Matas (video below),…

Amazing but true: Niccolò Matas and the Santa Croce Basilica

Read and Comment on this Draft Chapter of Volume One of The Jewish People: A History Jews and the Risorgimento New Piece in Aish.com Wishing all fellow students of Jewish History a G’mar ve-Hatimah Tovah; a successful completion to the end of the penitential season! May you and all your loved ones be blessed with…

A tolerant admissions policy led to an explosion of Jewish students at this prestigious 13th century school. Premieres at 12 Noon ET with Live Chat Wishing all students of Jewish history and their loved ones a sweet new year! Members-only Videos Now Available in Online Course The following three videos tend to attract a lot…

This topic, so important for the experience of Jews in European history, tends to attract a lot of unwanted attention. For now I prefer to offer them to Channel Members only, part of The Jewish Encounter with Rome series. I hope you find them useful.

Sadducees, Pharisees, and more. What Happened to the Sephardic Tombstones of Ferrara, Italy? Recommended Reading for Rosh Hashanah

Video from “Ukraine in the World” conference, Harvard University, May 2018.

Colleagues, I’m pleased to post a version of my new experimental course online for the public good. Please visit bit.ly/survivejewishhistory to access the course. The course is divided into twelve Existential Crises, covering historical eras from the Hellenistic to the Spanish Expulsion. Undergraduate students are required to complete several academic exercises to “survive” each level and…

Nonetheless, I proclaim my faith in God, that God is beyond limitation and nature, that God will save us. Let us go up and take it over, beyond reason and beyond logic.

Hello Jewish History fans– Here’s a new project you might find interesting. A few months ago I came across the work of Ken Bain (What the Best College Teachers Do), which inspired me to take a dramatic new look at the way I’ve been teaching a bread-and-butter course for a long time: History of the…

“It is not sufficient for a person to merely perform a commandment to fulfill one’s duty as a Jew, rather one must transform one’s self into a Jew in the sense of and you will be a nation of priests unto Me, and a holy nation.”

Shimon Huberband was a student of the Rebbe and an amateur historian working for Emanuel Ringelblum’s underground Oneg Shabbat archive (Rabbi Huberband, who was killed along with Ringelblum and most of the archivists, was probably instrumental in convincing the Rebbe to entrust his manuscript to Ringelblum for burial). Rabbi Huberband  visited the court of Piaseczno…

Brief overview of the life and work of Hakham Ovadia Yosef, prominent Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel. Final installment in the Spring 2018 Lecture Series: The Sephardic Diaspora. Sponsored by Katie and Vick Crespin of Miami Beach, FL In honor of the Six Million and all who were killed just for being Jewish.

Hello everyone– Had a great time here at the “Touro of Cambridge.” Great colleagues, great students, but looking forward to returning to the Mighty Avenue J for tomorrow’s lecture on Hakham Ovadya Yosef, last of the Spring 2018 series). Here’s a couple photos my wife took of me at my old hangouts: Widener Library and…

Brief lecture on the Crypto-Jews. Part 9 of The Sephardic Diaspora series. If you have difficulty seeing the video please click here.

The brief sense of relief felt by Warsaw Jews at the beginning of Passover 1941 did not last. Decrees expelling Jews from several towns were scheduled for the intermediate days of the holiday, and pressures upon the Jewish community increased dramatically. Diarists of the Ghetto record widespread confusion among the population over new Nazi policies…

Really looking forward to this.