Really looking forward seeing my friends at YILC!

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





Please join me for a far-ranging discussion, rooted in the caustic sectarianism of First Century Judaea but with implications for our current Covid-19 reality. Register for the free webinar at http://www.ahavathtorah.org/Tammuz.

The Humility of Rabbi Zecharyah: Jewish Sectarianism in the First Century, the Beginning of our Exile, and a Reflection of our Troubled Times. Webinar sponsored by Congregation Ahavath Torah (Englewood, NJ) in commemoration of the communal period of reflection and Teshuvah that begins on the 17th of Tammuz. Lecture by Dr. Henry Abramson, Dean and…

Enjoyed this far-reaching conversation with Rabbi Aaron Parnes on his innovative Chinuch Podcast. Enjoy in good health!

NEW YORK (JTA) — “Pray for the welfare of the state,” Rabbi Hanina writes, “for if it were not for the fear thereof, people would swallow each other alive.” As cities around the nation burn with righteous indignation over yet another horrific incident of police brutality directed against a black man, Jewish leaders must reflect on our…
Please visit https://www.rayze.it/kidney/abramson to help support Renewal.

Looking forward to this special presentation at Congregation Ohav Emeth via Zoom: a look at the incomparable Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto’s last words to his students and an overview of his tragically brief yet incredibly important life, filled with contributions to the religious, scholarly and intellectual future of the Jewish people. In honor of Yom…
Join me for a live chat on the historical perspective to our contemporary public health emergency. 2PM EDT. If you cannot see the image, here’s the link: https://youtu.be/GQTtvikHvmk. Stay healthy, everyone!

My favorite editor, Laura Adkins of JTA, asked me for some thoughts on what Jewish institutions of higher education might face in the post-coronavirus era. I’m really glad she did! Please click here for the article.

Please join me on Thursday at 2PM for “Plague and Pandemic in Jewish History,” a brief overview of the experience of epidemics and pandemics in Jewish history. Please visit bit.ly/pandemicjewishhistory for more information.

Please join me for a special webinar on The Response to Pandemics in Jewish History, scheduled for Thursday, May 14 at 2:00 pm EST. Participation is free and open to the community, but registration in advance is required to maintain security and prevent the unwanted intrusions of intellectual vandals. Please click on the image or…
Good morning–this is a recording of a recent webinar for educators.
Really enjoyed this conversation with Rabbi Avi Heller in the OU Daily Dvar. Please visit ou.org/dvar for more! https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/09LzDHPZ-CaCeohc3.js


Nicholas Donin was an erstwhile Talmudic scholar who converted to Christianity and made a career of denouncing the Talmud. His charges, brought before the Pope, resulted in a massive destruction of priceless Jewish manuscripts in Paris, 1242. Part of the Jewish Biography as History lecture series by Dr. Henry Abramson.

Rabenu Gershom, Me’or Ha-Golah (Our Teacher Gershom, Light of the Exile) was one of the most influential Jewish legislators of the High Middle Ages, affecting a wide variety of Jewish practices including monogamy, divorce law, and the right to privacy. Part of the Jewish Biography as History lecture series by Dr. Henry Abramson.

Yocheved was the daughter of one of Judaism’s greatest scholars: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, better known as Rashi. A fascinating woman in her own right, this lecture will survey some of the references to Yocheved (and her illustrious sisters) and what light this sheds on the history of medieval Jewish women.

To view the Prezi associated with this lecture, please click here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OnArXdHQdc

L.L. Zamenhof (1859-1917) was a Polish Jew who invented the world’s most successful artificial language, Esperanto. Conceived as a vehicle for world peace, Esperanto is even regarded by the Oomoto religion of Japan as the “language of heaven.”

This week marks the death anniversary of King Boleslaw V (The Chaste) in 1279. Boleslaw followed the tradition of his predecessors in Poland by creating incentives for Jewish settlement in Poland, including the establishment of Magdeburg Recht. Ultimately, these policies proved extremely attractive to Ashkenazi Jews from the Rhineland, making Poland a great center of…

To view the Prezi associated with this lecture, please click here.

To view the Prezi associated with this lecture, please click here.

The Fourth Lateran Council, which met in 1215 at the behest of Pope Innocent III, issued several pieces of Church legislation with dire implications for Jews. The doctrine of transubstantiation was confirmed, leading to a new element in antisemitic canards: accusations that Jews “desecrated the host.”

Poet, politician and philosopher, Shmuel ha-Nagid was an exemplar of the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry.

In November of 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat flew to Israel to address the Knesset. His meeting with his former enemy Prime Minister Menachem Begin ultimately resulted in the sometimes strained but nevertheless enduring Israel-Egypt peace accord, but his unpopularity with hardline Egyptians, opposed to making peace with Israel, resulted in his assassination in 1981.

To view the Prezi associated with this lecture, please click here. Excerpts from The Sea of Talmud: A Brief and Personal History Henry Abramson (2012) The Yeshiva administration must have put considerable thought into the wording of the hand-lettered sign posted outside the cafeteria. Many young men studying Talmud at this Jerusalem institution were taking…