Brief lecture on the life and times of Daniel Mendoza, a Sephardic Jewish champion boxer of the 18th and early 19th century.

In early February 1940 the Nazis promulgated decrees that prohibited Jews from benefitting from general community charity services. Ration cards were distributed with racial distinctions: Jews received cards with a Star of David marked on them, while Poles and Germans received colored, otherwise unmarked cards. At this early date in the war, hunger did not…

Brief presentation on the life and works of Sir Moses Montefiore, an important 19th century Sephardic English philanthropist. Part of the Sephardic Diaspora series.

“Faith is not an argument. It is a conversation, in which we listen, accept the premises of the interaction, make active choices and contributions, shift our direction as necessary based on the cues we hear, and most importantly, keep the conversation alive and active…Abramson’s work allows us to eavesdrop on one of the most powerful…

I am grateful for this thorough and kind review of the recent Ukrainian translation of “Ukrainians and Jews in Revolutionary Times” by Oleksandr Zinchenko, published in today’s Istorichna Pravda. If you don’t read Ukrainian (and refuse to read Google translate, which is close enough to the original to be seriously misleading), the revised English edition…

Brief presentation of the life and work of Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azoulay, a fascinating Sephardic Rabbi of the 18th century. Part Three of The Sephardic Diaspora series.

Tonight at Machon Chana: part two of The History of Sephardic Jewry series. Last week we looked at the origins of Spanish Jewry and the Muslim period; tonight we will focus on the Reconquista up to the Expulsion of 1492.

Main Auditorium of the Mighty Avenue J campus of Touro College 1602 Avenue J, Brooklyn NY 11230 7pm  Free and open to the community.  No hard questions, please.  For more information please click here. 

My old friend Dr. Michael Chigel tagged me on Facebook this morning with his remarkably kind and generous unsolicited review of Torah from the Years of Wrath. I’m deeply moved and grateful to Mike for promoting the Torah of the Aish Kodesh, as well as for the undeserved praise he lavished on my small contribution, but also…

Very pleased to see this revised edition of my first book available. Includes a new foreword and afterword.  

To the Hasidim steeped in the religious significance of the ritual calendar, the Sabbath known as Zakhor (March 23, 1940) must have seemed a cruel redundancy. Literally called “remember,” the Sabbath preceding the holiday of Purim is named for a few publicly read Torah verses (Deuteronomy 25:17-19) that memorialize the attack of Israel’s primordial enemy,…

Hey friends in Crown Heights! Please drop by and say hello.

Good morning fellow students of Jewish history: I’m very honored to be marking a Siyum ha-Shas (completion of a cycle of study of the Babylonian Talmud) and would love to share the celebration with you. I’ve been working on this since April 2019, producing one video per each folio of the Talmud (2,711 when I’m…

Lecture Delivered after the Assassination of Mr. Charlie Kirk Question and Answer Session went long Azariah da Rossi and the Earthquake of 1570 New publication! Celebrating a completion of study of the Babylonian Talmud

Need something to read this Elul? Try one of these… Wednesday evening: “Mistakes were made (but not by me)”: A new approach to Vidui (confession) Thursday Evening: Webinar hosted by the University of Maryland

The “Other” Famous Medieval Jewish Explorer Wednesday Night: Rabbi Katz on Forgiveness! (My lectures are September 10, 17)

Personal Reflections on his Historical Contributions Starting this Wednesday Evening with Rabbi Katz! (I’m speaking on September 10 and 17) Thank you Charlotte R. Alexander!

What does Judaism look like with 400 years without Rabbis or Jewish books? Unpacked on Hasidism Teshuvah Unpacked with Rabbi Shua Katz

Survival Strategies: Confronting Hate in Jewish History Live at Congregation Ahavat Torah in Englewood at 9:30 am, Sunday August 3 Or join us via Zoom Webinar at 6:15 pm at Congregation Darchei Noam. Release date: Tuesday, August 5 Working as a mining engineer in a remote part of northern Portugual, Samuel Schwarz made a remarkable…

Something for the 9 Days Livestream: https://youtube.com/live/hNli4Id6wWA?feature=share YouTube members: a second presentation is planned for 6:15 pm via Zoom (interactive). Please see your Community Tab for the link. Release Scheduled for 11 Av/5 August

From a recent issue of the Queens Jewish Link (click here to read the full article) Hasidm, Mitnagdim and Maskilim (Lecture delivered at the JLI National Jewish Retreat) Tisha B’Av at Congregation Ahavat Torah, Englewood NJ Coming Soon: Discovering the Crypto-Jews of Portugal