Really looking forward seeing my friends at YILC!

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





Really looking forward to the Eclipse Shabbaton in Dallas! Here’s some information. Even though this was a mock trial, I was nervous to testify! Jews of Israel before Modern Zionism

Love working with the team at Unpacked! What’s with this Bizarre 14th century Hebrew Stone from Porto? Getting Ready for Dallas! Happy Purim Everyone!!! This Persian video is either true (and good news), or it’s Purim Torah. Either way, appropriate for today…

Video version of one of the lectures delivered in Vancouver last week, live chat at 10am ET Looking forward to speaking in Dallas, Shabbos and Yom Iyun before the Eclipse!

I enjoyed this conversation at the recent JLI Retreat. I thought this turned out okay. Looking forward to setting up the next one! Review of Ilan Pappe, A History of Modern Palestine

Grateful to Beth Israel and the Jewish National Fund for the Invitation. Invitation-only lectures for students at the University of British Columbia and elsewhere: please contact Hillel BC for details. Jewish Prayer under the Inquisition The Strange Inscriptions of Trancoso, Portugal With Pyotr Kurzin of The Global Gambit New Episodes of Jewish History Nerds Podcast!…

Part III of a lecture series delivered at Beth Jacob Synagogue in Beverly Hills, CA; What does “From the River to the Sea” Really Mean?; What is Judaism without Rabbis or Books? Crypto-Jewish Prayer in Portugal Very Proud to work with Unpacked on this sensitive topic What would Judaism be like without Rabbis and Texts?

Captain Artur de Barros Basto, Apostle to the Marranos Unfortunately necessary discussion. Reflections on Social Media and Academia on YouTube (Part I) Proud to work with Unpacked on these difficult topics. Three New Episodes of Jewish History Nerds! Devorah Romm, The Maiden of Ludmir, and Hillel Ba’al Shem Click here to listen, or download from…

Burned at the stake in 1603. Channel Members: Researchers HaShomer HaChadash: I personally support this organization for Israeli and Diaspora Youth
Hello Fellow Students of Jewish History! Because so many of you are interested in Jewish History, I was honored by YouTube with the Silver Play Creator Award. Thank you so much! Here’s a short thank-you video, going over a bit of the history of this channel. I am very grateful, and look forward to learning…

Some words of comfort and consolation from Jewish history for our challenging time. Part III of the Series on The Shaping of the Jewish Mind Review of Yossi Klein Halevi, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

The Medieval Akedah: The Crusades and the Shaping of the Ashkenazic Mind The Crucible of Spain: The Inquisition and the Shaping of the Sephardic Mind Moses Mendelsohn on Jewish History Nerds! Click here or visit your favorite podcast provider for the first two seasons and the beginning of the third!

With all this talk about Genocide, let’s look at the Jewish person who actually invented the word. The Jewish History Nerds are Back for Season Three! Yael and Schwab are back! Go to your favorite podcast provider to catch Episode 1: Heinrich Graetz. Enjoy in good health!


The Life of the original Nazi Hunter The Expulsion of the Jews from Medieval Ashkenaz The Roman-Jewish Wars, 66-135 CE Join me at the National Jewish Retreat! Really pleased to be joining a tremendous roster of speakers in Palm Springs this month for the National Jewish Retreat! Please click here for more information.

Surprisingly insightful look at the nature of Jewish humor At first I was concerned that this was released during the 9 Days, but it actually has a lot of relevance to this sad time of the year. Very proud–as always–to have had a small role in putting this together with the remarkable team at Unpacked.…

A Fascinating and Influential Movement in Medieval Ashkenaz Unpacked on a Morally Challenging Topic in American History

Latest Episode of the Jewish History Lab Join me this Shabbos in Manhattan at the extremely cool Altneu Synagogue! I just thought this was so fascinating. Season 2 Finale: Sara Schenirer! Click here to listen to Yael and Schwab discuss the life and work of this remarkable woman!

Who is a Jew? An Israelite? A Hebrew? Two New Podcasts from Yael and Schwab The Expulsion of Ashkenazi Jews and the Origins of Polish Jewry

Two 16th Century Protestant Thinkers on How to Deal with Jews The Amazing Talmud of the Land of Israel!

Click here for Yael and Schwab’s discussion of the heroic, poetic Hannah Szenes. New Episodes in the Jewish History Lab series

Always amazed with the great team at Unpacked Honored to have made a small contribution to this sophisticated yet humorous video. This is a really bizarre story: the tragic controversy over cantorial style in Amsterdam, 1709 New Videos in the Birth of Ashkenaz Series

Really impressed with the amazing team at Unpacked! Very proud to have a small share in putting this video together. Three New Videos on Medieval Ashkenaz View the whole playlist here: Wuhsha the Broker: An Amazing Story from the Cairo Geniza Yael and Schwab ar the ULTIMATE Jewish history Nerds! Very thrilled that the second…

Ever wonder why Havdalah Boxes look like little towers? Who was Carl Lutz? Another complex and powerful video from the team at Unpacked Meet this 20th c. Italian Villager who Invented Judaism from scratch The story of Danuto Manduzio and the Jews of San Nicandro, Italy.

While I was in Budapest with the Ashkenazium, two really amazing episodes of the Jewish History Nerds podcast dropped. Fantastic experience working with Yael, Schwab and Rivky at Jewish History Nerds! Click here for the latest episodes: Sara Copia Sullam and Johannes Eisenmenger, or wherever you get your free podcasts. Great Conversation with Jeff Cohen…

Join Dr. Daniel Reiser, Dr. Michael Chighel and myself for a discussion of the life and works of the holy Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapiro. The schedule of presentations and discussions is available here. Admission is free, but you have to be in Budapest: Duna utca 1, 18:00. For those of you who live elsewhere, we…