A brief discussion of the election of Volodomyr Zelensky in the larger context of Ukrainian-Jewish history. Recorded on March 4, 2022 with hope for a speedy return to peace for Ukraine and its people.

My grandfather died, suddenly, on the rarest date of the year: March 3, 1957, which coincides with today, the 30th of Adar Rishon. It’s a leap year date that only appears seven times in the nineteen-year cycle of the Hebrew calendar. Following our Lithuanian Jewish custom, we observe his death anniversary on the 1st of…

I recorded this video just hours before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, motivated by Mr. Putin’s bizarre speech denying the historical legacy of the Ukrainian people.

This brief video provides a survey of the long Jewish presence in the region, framed in the context of maps: political, ethnolinguistic, military and social.

Very pleased to welcome the 100th student to my new online class on the Holocaust, free and open to the community. When Was the Book of Esther Written? New video available to students registered for the Biblical Jewish History course, and YouTube channel members at the Researcher and Colleague level.

Join us today at 11:00 am ET (New York Time) for a discussion of the implications of Digital Learning for Torah and Torah-adjacent study. Rabbi Schwed is the visionary director of multiple initiatives for the Orthodox Union, including the revolutionary All Daf app, also All Mishnah and All Parsha. Click here to RSVP for the…

The Jewish history Lab begins a discussion of the Holocaust. Premieres today at 12 noon ET (New York Time) with live chat. Join us! Archaeological Forgeries and Biblical History Discussion of the difficulty of working with forged artifacts and the study of Biblical History. This video is available to YouTube Channel members at the Researcher…

We got Zoombombed by Neo-Nazis in the middle of the conference, but I manage to deliver my presentation. Join us at 12 noon ET (New York time) for a premiere and live chat! 23 minutes, presentation is a little different than most of my lectures but still fun I think. I hope. Online Courses

Also: Origins of the Jewish People; Neo-Nazis Zoombomb the Sri Lankan Conference of Jews and Buddhists; Soviet Jews During the Interwar Period, and What’s with the Queen of Heaven Business? What is a Synagogue? 7. A Place of Community (Carpentras, France) Final installment in the What is a Synagogue? series. Amazing things in the basement…

Jewish History lectures, recent and forthcoming. It’s been pretty busy. Jews and Ukrainians in Revolutionary Times Ukrainians and Jews forged an unusual partnership during the brief period that followed the collapse of the Russian Empire, creating a Ministry of Jewish Affairs in a short-lived independent Ukrainian state. The experiment was doomed, however, by the Russian…

Warning: this video deals with issues that some of my fellow students of Jewish history might find philosophically challenging.

Also: what’s with the Eternal Light in the Crypto-Jewish synagogue of Belmonte, Portugal?

MAIMONIDES ON TESHUVAH THE WAYS OF REPENTANCE Available now Paperback, 273 pages: $18 Ebook: $9

Coming August 15, 2016, in commemoration of my father’s yohrtsayt (11 Av).

Hello students, colleagues and friends! Where will you be on Saturday night? If you’re in the Five Towns, please feel free to drop by the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst (YILC) and say hi, maybe learn a little bit of Torah with me. Besides learning with my kids a bit, I hope to spend the night alternating  between…

Here’s a brief message from my daughter Danit Malka, who is preparing for a major hike along the Grand Canyon to raise funds for Friendship Circle, an organization dedicated to helping children with disabilities.  Please partner with Danit Malka and help her meet her fundraising goal to help these kids by visiting http://www.hike.teamfriendship.org/DanitMalka. Thank you!

This article appeared in Radio Svoboda at: http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/27692726.html. I understand an English translation is forthcoming for readers who aren’t yet fluent in Ukrainian. 26.04.2016 «Чорнобиль не загинув» – нащадок чорнобильських рабинів Радіо Свобода Рід рабинів Тверських налічує понад 50 тисяч нащадків, але святим місцем для них залишається український Чорнобиль Впродовж останніх 30 років український Чорнобиль…

http://www.aish.com/jw/s/The-Mysterious-Miraculous-Sarajevo-Haggadah.html The Mysterious, Miraculous Sarajevo Haggadah by Dr. Henry Abramson The amazing story of the 700 year old Haggadah, the Muslim librarian who saved it from the Nazis, and how his children were miraculously saved by Israel. Resplendent in deep blues, brilliant yellows and alluring reds, the 14th century Sarajevo Haggadah was created during the…