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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With Rabbi Ari Silverstein @ Judaica Plus!
Really happy to see the new book joining the impressive display of Piaseczno Hasidic works at my favorite local Jewish bookstore! Here I am (out of uniform, sorry) with Rabbi Ari Silverstein at Judaica Plus in Cedarhurst.
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The Rebbe’s Work in Amazon’s Top 100!
Wow—I checked the site this morning, and discovered that the book on the Piaseczno Rebbe made it to the top 100 in its category on Amazon! Just behind classics by Elie Wiesel, Viktor Frankl, and Simon Wiesenthal! Really proud that people are finding this book meaningful. Thank you! Bit.ly\aishkodesh
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Advance Copies Arrived!
Woo-hoo! Visit bit.ly/aishkodesh or click here for the 20% discount, or to RSVP for the book launch on the 30th (free and open to the community!)
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Advance Copies Now Available (20% Discount)
I am delighted to inform you that advance copies of my new book are now available from Amazon (this is really advance–I won’t even get my own copy until next week!). I hope to have sufficient copies available for sale and signature at the Book Launch on October 30, but if you want to have…
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Who Was Shmuel Ha-Nagid?
Brief lecture on the life and work of Shmuel ha-Nagid, an important 11th century Spanish Jewish leader. Also: please join me for the launch of my new book, Torah from the Years of Wrath 1939-1943: The Historical Context of the Aish Kodesh (click here for more information). The launch is scheduled for Monday, October 30 at 7:00 pm…
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Who Was Hasdai ibn Shaprut?
Brief lecture on the life of Hasdai ibn Shaprut, an important 10th century Jewish leader in Andalusia, who set the foundations for the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry. Part of the Jews of Sepharad series, visit jewishhistorylectures.org for more information.
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Sephardic Jewry and the Islamic Conquest of 711
Brief overview of the Jews in Spain during the two centuries following the Muslim conquest of 711.
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Sephardic Jewry and the Muslim Conquest of 711
September 18: SEPHARDIC JEWRY AND THE MUSLIM CONQUEST OF 711 Sponsored by Katherine and Vick Crespin, in gratitude to Hashem for protecting their family from harm during Hurricane Irma. Monday, September 18 @ 7pm at the Mighty Avenue J Campus of Touro College 1602 Avenue J Brooklyn NY 11230 Free and Open to the…
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The Ancient Origins of Sephardic Jewry
A brief overview of the earliest history of Sephardic Jewry, from earliest settlement through the Visigothic period to the Muslim conquest of 711. For the Fall Schedule of Lectures, please click here. To sponsor a lecture, please click here.
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Day 20: Corrosive Habits
Day 20:Corrosive Habits Sunday, September 10, 2017 English Translation Follows י״ט אלול 4.4 וּמֵהֶן חֲמִשָּׁה דְּבָרִים הָעוֹשֶׂה אוֹתָן אֵין חֶזְקָתוֹ לָשׁוּב מֵהֶן, לְפִי שְׁהֶן דְּבָרִים קַלִּים בְּעֵינֵי רֹב הָאָדָם, וְנִמְצָא חוֹטֶא וְהוּא יְדַמֶּה שְׁאֵין זֶה חֵטְא; וְאֵלּוּ הֶן: (א) הָאוֹכֵל מִסְּעוֹדָה שְׁאֵינָהּ מַסְפֶּקֶת לִבְעָלֶיהָ–שֶׁזֶּה אֲבַק גָּזֵל, וְהוּא מְדַמֶּה שֶׁלֹּא חָטָא וְיֹאמַר כְּלוּם אָכַלְתִּי אֵלָא בִּרְשׁוּתָן.…
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Day 17-18-19: Impediments to Teshuvah
Day 17-18-19: Impediments to Teshuvah English Translation Follows 4.1 עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה דְּבָרִים מְעַכְּבִין אֶת הַתְּשׁוּבָה. אַרְבָּעָה מֵהֶן עָווֹן גָּדוֹל; וְהָעוֹשֶׂה אֶחָד מֵאַרְבַּעְתָּן–אֵין הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַסְפִּיק בְּיָדוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה, לְפִי גֹּדֶל חֶטְאוֹ. וְאֵלּוּ הֶן: (א) הַמַּחְטִיא אֶת הָרַבִּים; וּבִכְלַל עָווֹן זֶה, הַמְּעַכֵּב אֶת הָרַבִּים מִלַּעֲשׂוֹת מִצְוָה. (ב) וְהַמַּטֶּה חֲבֵרוֹ מִדֶּרֶךְ טוֹבָה לְדֶרֶךְ רָעָה, כְּגוֹן מַסִּית…
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Day 16: Sticks and Stones
Day 16: Sticks and Stones Wednesday, September 6, 2017 English Translation Follows 3:14 כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מֵאַרְבָּעָה וְעֶשְׂרִים אֲנָשִׁים אֵלּוּ שֶׁמָּנִינוּ–אַף עַל פִּי שְׁהֶן יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֵין לָהֶן חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וְיֵשׁ עֲבֵרוֹת קַלּוֹת מֵאֵלּוּ, וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים שֶׁהָרָגִיל בָּהֶן אֵין לוֹ חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, כְּדֵי לְהִתְרַחַק מֵהֶן וּלְהִזָּהֵר מֵהֶן. וְאֵלּוּ הֶן: הַמְּכַנֶּה…
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
