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

This was a wonderful evening.

Brief video on the life and times of Abraham Senior, important 15th-century Spanish Jewish financier. Suggestions for Chanukah Reading! Click here to order.  

Kindling the candles for the Festival of Lights, we bless G-d for performing miracles of freedom “in those days, in this time.” The commentators have long resolved the jarring use of apparently non-parallel prepositions: in those days, meaning long ago, but in this time, meaning at the present  point in the calendar year. For survivors…

This lecture turned out nicely, I think. If you haven’t heard Rabbi Ya’akov Trump, you’re in for a treat–skip past my part to about 26:00 for the good stuff. A century from now, people will say, “Trump, Trump…wasn’t there also a President by that name?”

YouTube sent me this gif for earning 10,000 subscribers. Really grateful that so many people enjoy Jewish history!

Really looking forward to this class. Thanks to Rabbi Ya’akov Trump for designing the flyer!

Brief overview of the life and work of Abraham Zacuto, important Jewish Iberian astronomer and historian. Now available: revised edition of The Kabbalah of Forgiveness.  Click here for more information.  

Aish Kodesh scholar Daniel Reiser holding a copy of my new book. Like Shakespeare holding a copy of one’s sonnets. Thank you!

The Piaseczno Rebbe, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira, refused to dignify the Nazis by naming them in his wartime sermons in the Warsaw Ghetto. In a rare moment of transparency, perhaps motivated by anguish over the suffering of his Hasidim, the Rebbe briefly suspended his euphemistic terminology with a curt third-person reference in his drashah on Parashat…

This was a huge amount of fun. If you are into Duties of the Heart, I think you will like this lecture! The video has a reference to Despacito by The Maccabeats, link provided below. Enjoy in good health!

I’m really happy that TorahAnytime.com is including my lectures, starting with The Jews of Sepharad series! Sign up for a free membership–there are some amazing speakers at TorahAnytime.com.

I was stopped on my way in to davening this morning by someone who told me about the incredible shiur that Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of Boca Raton Synagogue gave on the Aish Kodesh this week. Here’s the excerpt–Rabbi Goldberg captures the agony of the Rebbe after the loss of his family in his typically powerful…