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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Meaningful People Interview; Niccolo Matas Grave Marker Confirmed in Florence, Italy
Had a great time speaking with Nachi and Momo of Meaningful People podcast. The conversation was a little personal, a little irreverent, but even a little deep. Hope I didn’t overshare! Here’s the link: https://www.meaningfulpeoplepodcast.com/podcast/episode/3a28c3d3/dr-henry-abramson-or-uncovering-the-gems-of-our-past Nicolo Matas grave marker confirmed Last week I discussed the remarkable story of the Jewish architect Nicolo Matas (video below),…
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Did a Jewish Architect Really Put a Star of David on this Important Church in Florence, Italy?
Amazing but true: Niccolò Matas and the Santa Croce Basilica
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How Did Jewish Tombstones end up in an Italian Monument?; Jews and Italian Unification; Draft Chapter 10: The Roman-Jewish Wars now online
Read and Comment on this Draft Chapter of Volume One of The Jewish People: A History Jews and the Risorgimento New Piece in Aish.com Wishing all fellow students of Jewish History a G’mar ve-Hatimah Tovah; a successful completion to the end of the penitential season! May you and all your loved ones be blessed with…
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Jewish Medical Students at the University of Padua
A tolerant admissions policy led to an explosion of Jewish students at this prestigious 13th century school. Premieres at 12 Noon ET with Live Chat Wishing all students of Jewish history and their loved ones a sweet new year! Members-only Videos Now Available in Online Course The following three videos tend to attract a lot…
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Jesus in Jewish Historical Context
This topic, so important for the experience of Jews in European history, tends to attract a lot of unwanted attention. For now I prefer to offer them to Channel Members only, part of The Jewish Encounter with Rome series. I hope you find them useful.
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What happened to the Sephardic Grave Markers in Ferrara, Italy?; The Rabbi Who Ended a 1300-year Humiliation; Sectarianism in 1st Century Judea
Sadducees, Pharisees, and more. What Happened to the Sephardic Tombstones of Ferrara, Italy? Recommended Reading for Rosh Hashanah
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The Birth of Christianity in its Early Judean Context; King Herod the Idumean
King Herod Comes to Power Part One of The Jewish Encounter with Rome series Chapter 9: The Birth of Christianity Students registered for the Biblical Jewish history course: please note that the draft text of Chapter 8 (Judea under Rome) is now complete and ready for your comments. The introduction to Chapter 9: The Birth…
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DNA confirms Ashkenazic identity of bodies at bottom of 12th c. well; The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara; The Birth of Christianity; Lectures resume this week
The Jewish Encounter with Rome Lectures resume Wednesday, September 7 at 7:30 pm ET, at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst. Free and open to the community. The live Zoom webcast will be available to YILC members and members of my YouTube Channel at the Colleague level (sorry, some of material is a little too challenging…
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The Jewish Encounter with Rome; A 15th c. Madonna and the Jews of Mantua, Italy
“The Defeat of the Temerity of the Jews” A closer look at a remarkable painting that depicts the persecution of a specific Jewish family in post-Expulsion Italy. New Lecture Series Begins September 7 Chapter 8: Judaea Under Roman Rule updated
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My Father and Maimonides: A Personal Message for Rosh Hodesh Elul
My father believed in the power of personal transformation. I wrote this book in his memory. My Father: A Tribute My father, Jack David Abramson of blessed memory, was a man of compassion and integrity. Born in 1928 to Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, he lived his entire life in the small milling community of Ansonville,…
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Jewish Self-Censorship; Texts for Rosh Hodesh Elul; Fall Semester of Lectures begin September 7
New Course: The Jewish Encounter with Rome Begins Wednesday, September 7, with live in-person audience at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst and via Zoom. Details to follow. Join us! Jewish Self-Censorship in early Printing Recommended Reading for Rosh Hodesh Elul
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The Strange Economy of the Venice Ghetto; The Destruction of the Temple in History and the Talmud; Maimonides on Teshuvah (10th ed.)
Moneylending, Used Clothing, et cetera: The Strange Economy of the Venice Ghetto Tisha B’Av at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst with Rabbi Ya’akov Trump and Rabbi Ashi Schreier Maimonides on Teshuvah: 10th Edition Now Available, order in time for Elul Bonus video: my son Boaz, a marine science student at Stonybrook University, documents his summer research…
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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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…
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
