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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The Martyrs of Mumbai (This Week in Jewish History)
Pakistani terrorists attacked the Chabad House in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, 29th of Heshvan, 5769 (26 November 2008). Part of a concerted attack that killed 179 and wounded hundreds, they murdered the young Chabad emissaries running the house, Rabbi Gavriel and Mrs. Rivky Holtzberg. Their infant son, who turned two the day after his parents…
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Rav Sherira Gaon: The Jews of Babylon (Next Week: Sa’adia Gaon)
Who, exactly, wrote down the foundational texts of the Oral Torah? Who is responsible for the compiling of the Talmud? These were some of the questions addressed to Sherira Gaon, the Rosh Yeshiva of the great city of Pumbedita in Babylon in 987 by a young Rabbi in Tunisia. His famous response, preserved for over…
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Hannah Szenes: Poet-Martyr of the Resistance (This Week In Jewish History)
Hannah Szenes was a young Hungarian Jewish woman who joined the resistance in 1943, parachuting into Nazi-occupied territories with British support. She was captured and tortured, but did not divulge secret information on her colleagues. Her poetry, including the classic “Blessed is the Match,” survive and add to her legacy.
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Paul of Tarsus: The Origins of Christianity in Jewish Context
Credited with the popularization of Christianity, Saul (later Paul) of Tarsus was influential in mediating Jewish ideas to an increasingly Gentile audience. Combining appealing concepts such as life after death and a personal Deity with a relaxed approach to the requirements of Rabbinic Judaism, the former Pharisee succeeded in spreading Christianity well beyond its narrow…
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Vladimir Ze’ev Jabotinsky (This Week in Jewish History)
Vladimir Ze’ev Jabotinsky (1880-1940) was one of the most influential political thinkers in the first half of the twentieth century, founder of the Revisionist movement.
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The Mishnah: Creating a Portable Judaism HIS 155 Lecture 1.5
Compiled by Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Nasi in an exceptionally difficult time for the Jewish people, the Mishnah created the possibility of creating a “portable Judaism.” After the destruction of the Temple in 70 and the dramatic escalation of the diaspora, the Mishnah allowed Jews to define their religion within an intellectual and textual context, outside of…
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Philo Judaeus of Alexandria: Jews in the Greek World
Virtually ignored by Jewish philosophers, Philo of Alexandria represented the high point of synthesis between Greek and Jewish thought in the ancient world, and had a huge influence on early Christian thinkers. A prominent representative of the Egyptian Jewish community to the Roman Emperor, and well-respected in his day by his coreligionists, he nevertheless had…
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The Dreyfus Affair (This Week in Jewish History)
Wrongly accused of espionage, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was sentenced to Devil’s Island on the basis of remarkably tenuous evidence. May critics, including the famous writer Emile Zola, argued that Dreyfus was unfairly charged simply because he was a Jew in the French army. As evidence mounted that another officer was guilty, the Dreyfus Affair exposed…
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Who Was Josephus?
Captured by the Romans, Josephus was a Jewish general who ultimately served as a military advisor to General Titus. Josephus recorded his first-hand observations of the destruction of the Temple, and went on to a brilliant literary career in Rome, describing Jews and Judaism to a wider audience. Who was Josephus–traitor to his people or…
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Rembrandt and the Jews (This Week in Jewish History)
Rembrandt is well-known for his depictions of Jewish subjects, both as contemporary portraits and as models for Christian biblical characters.
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Who Was Josephus? Fall 2013 Lecture Series in Jewish History Resumes This Week
Photo: Aryeh Abramson looks out over Iroquois Falls, Ontario, Canada, where he spent the Sukkot vacation visiting his grandparents. Captured by the Roman General (and later Emperor) Vespasian while defending the Galilee, Josephus ultimately turned against his coreligionists and served as an advisor to the forces besieging Jerusalem during the first Roman-Jewish War. His first-hand…
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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Jews, the First Crusade, and the Culture of Ashkenaz
After a discussion of Jewish communal structure in the medieval era, we will look at the devastation of the First Crusade and the Rhineland Massacres of 1096, follow up with some thoughts on the long-term impact on Ashkenazi Culture. Premiering today at 1 pm.
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Interview with Dr. Michael Chighel of The Ashkenazium
Yikes! This interview started out with a lot more personal material than I intended, but I had a lot of fun speaking with my colleague and friend Dr. Michael Chighel, Dean of Ashkenazium Jewish History MA in Budapest. Enjoy in good health!
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Jewish Life in the Dark Ages, the Rishonim, and Maimonides (Jewish History Lab)
Here’s the latest videos from the Jewish History Lab series.
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Amsterdam: Refuge of Rabbi Moshe Hayim Luzzatto
Brief review of the troubled journey of Rabbi Moshe Hayim Luzzatto, a brilliant young scholar of the 18th century who was persecuted by opponents and hounded across Europe before finding his way to the more tolerant intellectual climate of Amsterdam.
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Truth will Spring from the Earth: Gutenberg, the Internet, and the New Uncertainty Principle
//embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=5035317&width=auto&height=auto&HideVideoInfo=false “Truth will Sprout from the Earth: Gutenberg, the Internet, and the New Uncertainty Principle.” Presentation at the XIII International Torah and Science Conference, Miami. Introductory remarks by Dr. Nathan Katz.
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Runaway Yeshiva Bochur’s Work May Aid COVID Research
Runaway Yeshiva Bochur’s Work May Aid COVID Research The Jewish Star (March 24, 2021) Shortly after emigrating to Israel in 1901, this Telz-educated orphaned son of a rosh yeshiva earned an unlikely nickname: “the crazy fly-catcher.” Israel Aharoni’s odyssey into the world of middle eastern zoology, long recognized in the scientific world with over 30…
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The Ashkenazium: Graduate Studies in Budapest
Really thrilled to be part of the inaugural visiting faculty of the Ashkenazium! Please check out this introductory video that beautifully captures the historic “vibe” of the school and its Dean, Dr. Michael Chigel.
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The Jews of Egypt after the Exodus, and the Third Plague
A brief overview of the history of Jewish life in Egypt. After looking briefly at the Exodus itself, we look at some major population centers in Elephantine, Alexandria, and Cairo, to the present day. To avoid any possible confusion: this lecture does not argue for continuity between the Jewish population described in the account of…
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The Geonim of Baghdad and the Origins of the Jews of North Africa (today at noon New York time)
A brief look at the social and economic background of the post-Talmudic era in Baghdad, with an important digression into the 8th-10th century revolution in information technology that helped propel the authority and influence of the Geonim. The following video will look at the early history of North Africa, an area influenced by their scholarship…
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No, Ashkenazi Jews are not Khazars; Menasseh ben Israel and the Ten Lost Tribes
Premiering today at 12:00 noon ET.
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The Jews of Africa #BlackHistoryMonth
Preliminary remarks on the study of the Jews in Africa, followed by The Jews of Ethiopia (origins to 1862). Premiering today at 12 noon ET. Note: for some reason this particular topic attracts an unusual amount of inappropriate commentary. Scholarly, collegial discussion is welcomed here; but I intend to remove hateful remarks, and commentators who…
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Esther as Crypto-Jew: Jewish History, Identity and the Missing 107 Verses from the Book of Esther
Some thoughts on the literary figure of Queen Esther on the eve of the holiday of Purim. Talk originally delivered to members of Project Makom on February 21, 2022. http://www.projectmakom.org
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
Jewish Resilience After October 7; American Jews, Post-Honeymoon; The Jews of Al-Andalus
Three Strategies
Jews under the Visigoths II; The Spanish Golden Age
Public at 10am ET (44 minutes)
Online Courses in Jewish History
Jewish Life in Visigothic Spain; Commemorating October 7
This is one of the most bizarre periods of Jewish history, and that’s saying a lot.
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
