The Jews of Bukhara (Sunday in Denver); the Maimonidean Controversy; Save the Date for Roslyn NY
Really looking forward to speaking to the Or Avner community in Aurora, CO!

The Maimonidean Controversy
Save the Date: Shabbaton in Roslyn NY, December 20-21

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Danit Malka Hikes the Grand Canyon for Kids with Disabilities!
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!
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The First Pillar of Jewish Law: The Rif
http://www.aish.com/jl/h/h/The-First-Pillar-of-Jewish-Law-The-Rif.html The First Pillar of Jewish Law: The Rif by Dr. Henry Abramson Appreciating the trailblazing scholarly work of Rabbi Yitzchak al-Fasi. Students with even a cursory familiarity with Halacha, Jewish law, are aware of the importance of the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Yosef Karo’s comprehensive 15th century magnum opus that informs, directs, and inspires the…
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Chernobyl and its Hasidim
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…
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The Mysterious, Miraculous Sarajevo Haggadah
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…
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Interview on JRouteradio.com April 4/16
Here’s the interview Pesach Charney and Nissim Lazari conducted at jrouteradio.com on April 4. Hope you enjoy it!
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The Soviet Campaign to Eliminate Passover
http://www.aish.com/jw/s/The-Soviet-Campaign-to-Eliminate-Passover.html The Soviet Campaign to Eliminate Passover by Dr. Henry Abramson “Red Haggadahs” were published in the 1920s with the explicit goal of replacing belief in God with faith in Communist Russia. One of the most unusual episodes in the long history of anti-Semitic persecution is the Soviet anti-Jewish campaign of the 1920s. Utilizing formerly…
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American Jewish History (Essential Lectures in Jewish History)
Brief overview of the history of Jewish immigration to the United States and demographic developments to the beginning of the 21st century.
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Who Was R. David Sintzheim?
Appointed as the head of Napoleon’s Grand Sanhedrin, respected Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva David Sintzheim created a political modus vivendi for Jews in modern Europe. Click here for the Prezi associated with this video.
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Tractate “Prohibition” (Purim Torah)
Tractate “Prohibition”People of the Book: Great Works of the Jewish Tradition Dr. Henry Abramson “Reverend” Gershon Kiss of Brooklyn captured the spirit of Purim brilliantly in his 1929 parody of the Talmud, “Tractate Prohibition,” which pokes fun at both Rabbinic dialectic and American society. Written in a combination of Hebrew, Aramaic and the occasional Anglicism…
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Who Was R. Yaakov Emden?
Intimidated by neither power nor position, Rabbi Yaakov Emden left a remarkable literary legacy in the form of his autobiography, Megilat Sefer. This brief lecture provides an overview of his life and work, including his epic controversy with Rabbi Yonasan Eibeschutz. R. Yaakov Emden, Megilat Sefer People of the Book: Great Works of the Jewish…
The Jews of Bukhara (Denver, CO); The Jews of the Lesser Antilles; Varieties of Crypto-Jewish Identity; Wait, Alexander Hamilton was Jewish?
Looking forward to a wonderful Shabbat in the Denver Jewish community!

Our Itinerary of Discovery in the Western Caribbean
Channel Members
Premiering at 10am ET
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YILC Annual Dinner; What is a Synagogue? Birth of Modern Jewish Politics
My wife Ilana and I are proud to serve as the Guests of Honour (note the Canadian spelling, very considerate of them) at the time 41st Annual Dinner of the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, together with the Young Leadership Awardees Gila and Alan Goldberg. We are enthusiastic participants in YILC, a wonderful community resource under…
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The Premature Burial Controversy of 1772 and the Perilous Challenges of Modern Orthodoxy (Tonight at 9pm ET)
Proud to address the famous Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst Teshuvah Haburah (at first I thought they were all about repentance, but in reality it’s a group of highly intelligent people who gather to discuss Rabbinic Responsa, also good). Please join in person tonight at 9pm ET or via zoom: bit.ly/YILCSHUT, passcode is yilctorah.
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Emancipation of the Jews in Western Europe, Aryeh competes for Team USA in Jerusalem! and Biblical Jewish History Course hits registration milestone
European Jews Achieve Citizenship Good morning fellow students of Jewish history! Please join me at 11:30 am ET for a half-hour discussion of the emancipation of the Jews of Western Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Help Aryeh achieve his goal! I’m very proud of our teenage son Aryeh, selected to participate…
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Teenage Son Aryeh to Represent Team USA at the 2022 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem!
Hello fellow students of Jewish history! Here’s something historic, at least in terms of the Abramson family: our teenage son Aryeh has been selected to represent Team USA at the 2022 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem! His sport is Shotokan Karate. It’s a kind of a family tradition now: his older sister Aliza competed four years…
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Rabbis Who, If they had the Temerity to Show up in Our Shuls today…(Lecturing in Monsey this Shabbos)
Very honored to serve as a Scholar-In-Residence this Shabbos, parshas Vayehi, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, New York. Please view the video for the planned public talks (which will not be recorded, of course). Friday Night, December 17, 8pm Rabbis Who, If they had the Temerity to Show up in Our Shuls today……
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Hasidism is born, The Misnagdim Strike Back! and Haskalah Enters the Debate.
Good morning fellow students of Jewish history: please join me for this week’s series of video premieres (with live chat), live in-person and zoom classes. We’ll be looking at the 18th century with some forays into Jewish art history and the controversy that led the Jews of France to torch Maimonides’ works in 1232. Here’s…
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TODAY: Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Wisdom: Postmodernism and the Digital Age (Torah and Science Conference) 1:45 pm ET
Good morning fellow students of Jewish history. Please join me today for a discussion of the implications of postmodernism and the digital age in the XIV Torah and Science conference, held virtually at this link. My presentation is at 1:45 PM ET, the conference program is below. I hope to release a recording later, but…
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Jewish Migration to the Americas; The Haskalah; Torah and the Internet
Sunday Premiering today at 12pm ET: Jewish Migration to the New World. Following up on the previous Jewish History Lab video on the Origins of the Jews in the New World, this brief video will survey the major waves of Jewish migration in the 18th-20th centuries. Tuesday Final lecture in the three-part series entitled Hasidim,…
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The Jewish (Re)Discovery of Chanukah
Strange but true: Jewish sources largely ignored the history of Chanukah until the 10th century! Here’s a quick review of the major works, and how they affected the Jewish memory of this remarkable period in Jewish history. Here’s a few Sefaria links to texts mentioned in the video: Relevant section of Talmud, Tractate Shabbat Megilat…
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History and Practice of Eating Donuts on Chanukah: A Book Review
Review of Reuven Melekh ben Binyamin Yitzhak Schwartz, Emek Ha-Sufganim: Iyunim u-beiurim be-inyan minhag akhilat sufganim be-yemei hanukah Israel: Sh. Vaynraikh, Hanukah 5780 (2019), 431 pages. For a copy, please contact your local Jewish bookseller or the phone numbers listed on the copyright page: (718) 253-2804; (516) 581-3597; (718) 501-3165. Interested in studying more deeply?…
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Elazar Maccabee and the Battle of Bet Zekharya; The Shtadlan in Jewish History
The Misnagdim Strike Back! Part II of the series on Hasidim, Mitnagdim and Maskilim: The Formation of Jewish Identity. Open to the Community at Beit Midrash of Teaneck, 70 Sterling Place, Teaneck NJ. Tuesday, November 30 at 11:45 am. Please write BMTeaneck@gmail.com for Zoom links. Take your learning to the next level: try a course!
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The Origins of American Jewry
We begin with 23 bedraggled refugees from the Inquisition, sailing into the harbor of what would become New York.
Visits to Synagogues in Bordeaux and Libourne (France); Another Open Letter to Jewish Participants in anti-Israel Protests re: Amsterdam; Conference Presentation on Sheptytsky and WW II
Fantastic Voyage of Discovery with Kosher River Cruises
A Difficult Conversation
Recent Conference Presentation in Toronto
Wait, Christopher Columbus was Jewish? Documentary on Roman-Jewish War now Online
Surprised how much attention this got.
Herod’s Tragic Reign
The Fatal Conflict
How Jewish Culture will Thrive after October 7; The Jews of Al-Andalus Part II
Remarks at Lander College for Men
Maimonides and the Controversy over His Work
Jews under the Visigoths II; The Spanish Golden Age
Public at 10am ET (44 minutes)
Online Courses in Jewish History



New Lecture Series: The Sweep of Sephardic History; Faith in Times of Crisis: Commemorating the Tragedy of October 7
New Lecture Series: The History of Sephardic Jewry




