Lectures in Jewish History and Thought. No hard questions, please.
With Dr. Sharon Liberman Mintz, Judaica curator for Southeby’s, at a private viewing of this amazing 14th century Spanish Bible.
The Sixth Level: Who Makes Your Lunch? “Who Makes Your Lunch?” illustration of Level 6 by Rebecca Odessa, Courtesy The Wisdom Daily The Sixth Level: Who Makes Your Lunch? Translator’s Introduction The Sixth Level begins with a deeply mystical passage in Ezekiel, set in the years immediately prior to the 6th century BCE destruction of…
The Fifth Level: Release the Anger “Release the Anger,” illustration of Level 5 by Rebecca Odessa, Courtesy The Wisdom Daily The Fifth Level: Release the Anger Translator’s Introduction The prophet Zechariah portrays God as a shepherd with two staffs: one is called “pleasantness” (נאם) and the other is called “woundings” (חובלים). In his commentary on Date…
The Fourth Level: Remember the Family “In the Same Boat (Remember We are Family),” illustration of Level 4 by Rebecca Odessa, Courtesy The Wisdom Daily The Fourth Level: Remember the Family Translator’s Introduction The Fourth Level of Mercy calls attention to the fundamental connectedness of humanity. The Jewish people in particular maintain a strong familial…
The Third Level: Take Care of it Personally “Part of the Process (Take Care of it Personally),” illustration of Level 3 by Rebecca Odessa, Courtesy The Wisdom Daily The Third Level: Take Care of It Personally Translator’s Introduction The Third Level of Mercy addresses the personal role that God plays in the process of forgiveness. Rather…
The Second Level: Let it Go for Now “Whose K’tegors are These? (Let it Go)” Illustration of Level 2 by Rebecca Odessa, Courtesy The Wisdom Daily The Second Level: Let it Go for Now The second of the Thirteen Levels, “Who Bears Sin,” describes a degree of mercy that is even more profound than…
The First Level: The King who Endures Insult “The Insulted King,” illustration of Level 1 by Rebecca Odessa, Courtesy The Wisdom Daily Translator’s Introduction Rabbi Cordovero’s discussion of the Thirteen Levels of Mercy begins with an awesome depiction of human sin from God’s perspective. Given that all power in the Universe has God at…
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New for the Season of Repentance: a translation and modern commentary on Rabbi Moshe Cordovero’s classic of Jewish ethics, the Date Palm of Devorah (Tomer Devorah). Learn the Thirteen Levels of Mercy and discover how to forgive others (and yourself). Please visit http://www.jewishhistorylectures.org and click on “The Kabbalah of Forgiveness” for excerpts and videos. Publication date:…
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) articulated a strategy to allow Jews their traditional observances while participating actively in the modern world. Criticized from both the left and the right, his thought remains highly influential into the 21st century.
Founder of the famous Yeshiva of Volozhin, Rabbi Hayim ben Yitshad was one of the most influential proponents of traditional Talmudic study of the early 19th century. The author of Nefesh haHayim, he articulated a cogent response to the growing Hasidic movement.
In 1240 Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity, engaged in a public debate with his former teacher, Rabbi Yechiel of Paris. Donin charged that the Talmud was a noxious document that prevented the Jews from embracing Christianity, and brought a total of 35 distinct accusations against this ancient holy text. Ultimately, 24 carriage loads…
Jerusalem Day (Yom Yerushalayim) celebrates the unification of Jerusalem in the context of the Six-Day War of June 1967. This dramatic military achievement represented a victory that was both political and symbolic, giving Jews control over the the Old City and the Temple Mount after nearly 2000 years of exile.
Thanks to Rabbi Pesach Sommer for recording my brief comments at the conclusion of the hilula (74th anniversary of his martyrdom) for Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira at The Shtiebl in Williamsburg, NY. SHOW MORE
Very grateful to Rabbi Pesach Sommer for writing a kind and generous review of Torah from the Years of Wrath! My favorite passage is at the end: “Dr. Abramson has written a book which is destined to lead to an increase of study of the rebbe’s Torah and thought in both the academic and Jewish…
Please watch this brief video. Really hoping you will join us for the book launch on Monday, October 30! Please visit bit.ly/aishkodesh to RSVP and for more information.
The Aish Kodesh died 74 years ago, martyred in the Trawniki labor camp. Now, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira is at the center of a surge of new research into the most profound questions surrounding the Holocaust. A new critical edition, prepared with phenomenal scholarly energy by Daniel Reiser, demonstrates that we have just started…
Conducted in darkness according to the Piaseczno custom, Rabbi Weinberger presided over a moving Hilula last night in honor of the Piaseczno Rebbe’s 74th yahrzeit. Visit http://www.aishkodesh.org/ and scroll down to watch the recording, featuring beautiful music by Yosef Karduner and of course the words of Rabbi Weinberger. He begins speaking at 1:00, and his opening joke…
Brief overview of the life and work of the great Sefardic poet and thinker, Yehudah ha-Levi.
This moment made me feel really great–standing with two great Hasidim of the Piaseczno Rebbe! On the left is R. Yoel Rubin, center (the amud ha-emtsa’i) is R. Weinberger of Kehillas Aish Kodesh, and there’s me on the right (out of uniform again). R. Weinberger just gave a great shiur on Rav Kook, and we…
Really happy to see the new book joining the impressive display of Piaseczno Hasidic works at my favorite local Jewish bookstore! Here I am (out of uniform, sorry) with Rabbi Ari Silverstein at Judaica Plus in Cedarhurst.
Wow—I checked the site this morning, and discovered that the book on the Piaseczno Rebbe made it to the top 100 in its category on Amazon! Just behind classics by Elie Wiesel, Viktor Frankl, and Simon Wiesenthal! Really proud that people are finding this book meaningful. Thank you! Bit.ly\aishkodesh
Woo-hoo! Visit bit.ly/aishkodesh or click here for the 20% discount, or to RSVP for the book launch on the 30th (free and open to the community!)
I am delighted to inform you that advance copies of my new book are now available from Amazon (this is really advance–I won’t even get my own copy until next week!). I hope to have sufficient copies available for sale and signature at the Book Launch on October 30, but if you want to have…
Henry Abramson 