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

  • Day 1: Confession.

    Day 1: Confession.

    Day 1 ל׳ אב ראש חודש אלול Tuesday, August 22, 2017 כָּל הַמִּצְווֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה, בֵּין עֲשֵׂה בֵּין לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה—אִם עָבַר אָדָם עַל אַחַת מֵהֶן, בֵּין בְּזָדוֹן בֵּין בִּשְׁגָגָה—כְּשֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה תְּשׁוּבָה וְיָשׁוּב מֵחֶטְאוֹ, חַיָּב לְהִתְוַדּוֹת לִפְנֵי הָא–ל בָּרוּךְ הוּא:  שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר “אִישׁ אוֹ–אִשָּׁה כִּי יַעֲשׂוּ מִכָּל–חַטֹּאת הָאָדָם למעול מעל בה‘ ואשמה הנפש ההיא וְהִתְוַדּוּ, אֶת–חַטָּאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ” (במדבר ה,ו–ז), זֶה…

  • August 2017 Update

    August 2017 Update

    Please click here for the latest news: The Jews of Sepharad lecture series, our new Global Maimonides Project, and other cool things.

  • The Liturgy of Anguish

    The Liturgy of Anguish

    ‪Hopefully this event will be cancelled with the arrival of Moshiach, but just in case, I am really looking forward to hearing Rabbi Goldberg speak about the Kinot. ‬

  • What is Teshuvah?

  • New Series! How to Speak Like a Mensch

    New Series! How to Speak Like a Mensch

    This is a little different: my Jewish take on SPLN 101: Fundamentals of Speech, our required undergraduate course at the mighty Avenue J campus of Touro College. Let me know what you think!

  • Why I Wrote Maimonides on Teshuvah

    Why I Wrote Maimonides on Teshuvah

    Dedicated to the memory of my father: A new translation and commentary of Moses Maimonides’ classic work on repentance. Softcover, 253 pages, illustrations. $18 after August 3, pre-order now for special price of $9 plus shipping. 5th edition (2017) Visit bit.ly/ordermot for more details.

  • Maimonides on Teshuvah

    Maimonides on Teshuvah

      Dedicated to the memory of my father: A new translation and commentary of Moses Maimonides’ classic work on repentance. Softcover, 253 pages, illustrations. $18. Click here to order.

  • The Jews of Sepharad: Fall 2017 Lectures

    The Jews of Sepharad: Fall 2017 Lectures

        All lectures will be held in the Main Auditorium of the mighty Avenue J Campus 7:00 PM Free and Open to the Community Touro College 1602 Avenue J Brooklyn, NY 11230 September 11 September 18 September 25 October 2 No Class October 9 October 16 October 23 October 30 November 6 November 13…

  • Study Jewish History in Moscow!

    Study Jewish History in Moscow!

    This amazing trip is now open to non-matriculated, visiting students! Join us–it promises to be a fantastic experience.  Email me at abramson@touro.edu for more information.

  • Who Was Rabbi Moshe Cordovero?

      The sixteenth century witnessed a phenomenal, short-lived explosion of Jewish spiritual creativity, centered in the sleepy Galilean town of Safed (Tsfat). Along with greats such as Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero was one of the founders of that unusual place, attracting still more Rabbis and especially Kabbalists to the mountaintop community, including Rabbi…

  • Who Was Nahmanides?

    A brilliant 13th-century scholar of Rabbinic thought, Nahmanides’ defense of Judaism in a forced Church-sponsored debate earned him exile from his native Spain. An elderly sage, he emigrated to the Land of Israel, where he found a tiny Jewish community, desperately hanging onto the traditions of their ancestors. Summoning upon an immense reserve of energy,…

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


  • The Talmud in National Geographic!

    The Talmud in National Geographic!

    The Talmud in National Geographic! Specifically, the tsnuami of 115 CE and the famous debate over the oven of Akhnai. Just a teaser in this little trailer for the second season (see if you can identify my voice!), the whole podcast is scheduled for release later this month. Was really a lot of fun to…

  • A Haredi Rosh Yeshiva Wrote a Novel under a Pseudonym. It’s pretty good.

    A Haredi Rosh Yeshiva Wrote a Novel under a Pseudonym. It’s pretty good.

    Here’s my review, published in the Life section of the OU.org blog: A Rosh Yeshiva Wrote a Novel Under a Pseudonym. It’s Pretty Good. Dr. Henry AbramsonSeptember 24, 2019 In the highly-polarized environment of contemporary Jewish culture, it’s easier to imagine a rosh yeshiva banning fiction than writing it. Imagine my surprise when I received a copy…

  • Crash Course in Jewish History IV: Contemporary Period

    Final installment of the Four-Part Crash Course in Jewish History. Thanks to everyone at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, especially the very receptive audiences. Wishing you all a Shana Tovah!

  • Crash Course in Jewish History, Part III now Online!

    Good morning students of Jewish history! Here’s part III of the Crash Course in Jewish History, looking at the Modern period. Thanks to everyone who came out to hear it live! Please click here for the recordings of the first two parts, and information on the final class, scheduled for Wednesday, September 25 at 7:30…

  • TONIGHT: Part III, Crash Course in Jewish History

    TONIGHT: Part III, Crash Course in Jewish History

    Good morning students of Jewish History! Looking forward to seeing you for the third installment in our fairly popular Crash Course in Jewish History. We’re grateful for the positive response from the live audience, not to mention an unusually large number of online views: as I write this post, the first two parts have been…

  • Please Join Me at Torah NY!

    Please Join Me at Torah NY!

    Good morning students of Jewish history! I hope you have Torah NY on your calendar for Sunday, September 22, at Citi Field NY. I’m really thrilled to be speaking there on my newest project, the rather audacious Jewish History in Daf Yomi podcast, which is part of the exciting All Daf app currently under construction…

  • Crash Course in Jewish History, Part II

    Crash Course in Jewish History, Part II

    Thank you all for coming last night. Hope you enjoy this video recording of the lecture, which covers Medieval Jewish History in a hopelessly superficial rush, from the close of the Mishnah in the 3rd century to the Spanish Expulsion in the late 15th century. Next week’s lecture will look at Modern Jewish History, picking…

  • Tonight! Crash Course in Jewish History Part II

    Tonight! Crash Course in Jewish History Part II

    Good morning students, colleagues, and other lovers of Jewish history! Tonight (Wednesday, September 11) we are scheduled to resume our Crash Course in Jewish History with Part II, focusing on the medieval period from the compilation of the Mishnah at the turn of the 3rd century through the Spanish Expulsion of 1492. Young Israel of…

  • Monday Night! Dr. Daniel Reiser and Henry Abramson at Touro College

    Touro College is honored to welcome a great Israeli scholar to the Mighty Avenue J campus this Monday night at 7:00 pm sharp. Dr. Daniel Reiser, winner of the Yad Vashem Prize for Holocaust Research and the World Union of Jewish Studies Prize for the Best Book on Jewish Thought, will speak about his pathbreaking…

  • Ancient Israel (Crash Course in Jewish History, Pt. 1)

    Please enjoy this recording of the first in our new four-part series, Crash Course in Jewish History, offered this month at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst. More information available by clicking here.

  • Optional Readings for Crash Course in Jewish History

    Optional Readings for Crash Course in Jewish History

    Crash Course in Jewish History  (for very intelligent people) Extra Credit Readings for First Class: Wednesday, September 4, 2019 (privileges will be revoked for anyone who asks hard questions) Ancient History Wednesday, September 4, 2019 What is Jewish History? Peter Steinfels, “Salo Baron, 94, Scholar of Jewish History, Dies,” New York Times, November 26, 1989. 2.…

  • Message to Faculty from Dean Abramson

    Two brief thoughts on the momentous occasion of the beginning of the new Academic Year.

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


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.

Dropping on Sunday, September 22 at 10am ET. 70 minutes.


A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz

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

Public at 10 am ET. Duration: 72 minutes.
Channel Members: Duration 70 minutes.
Channel members: 44 minutes.

Shabbat in Silver Spring; The History of Sephardic Jewry; Jews, Wine, and Bordeaux; Napoleon’s 1808 Decree on Jewish Names

Stories of Personal Transformation for Elul


Napoleon’s 1808 Imperial Decree on Jewish Names


The History of Sephardic Jewry (Lecture, 75 minutes)

Jews, Wine, and Bordeaux (7 minutes)


A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz

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