Really looking forward to meeting this community!

Lectures in Jewish History and Thought. No hard questions, please.




Conducted in darkness according to the Piaseczno custom, Rabbi Weinberger presided over a moving Hilula last night in honor of the Piaseczno Rebbe’s 74th yahrzeit. Visit http://www.aishkodesh.org/ and scroll down to watch the recording, featuring beautiful music by Yosef Karduner and of course the words of Rabbi Weinberger. He begins speaking at 1:00, and his opening joke……

Brief overview of the life and work of the great Sefardic poet and thinker, Yehudah ha-Levi.

This moment made me feel really great–standing with two great Hasidim of the Piaseczno Rebbe! On the left is R. Yoel Rubin, center (the amud ha-emtsa’i) is R. Weinberger of Kehillas Aish Kodesh, and there’s me on the right (out of uniform again). R. Weinberger just gave a great shiur on Rav Kook, and we……

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.

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

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!)

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……

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……

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.

Brief overview of the Jews in Spain during the two centuries following 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……

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.


Premiering today at 12:00 noon ET.

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……

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

Jewish History Lab Report February 12, 2021 Jewish History Lab Lectures Scheduled for Next Week (Advance access for YouTube channel members at the Student Level) 49. Early Jewish Settlement in Spain (Scheduled for Sunday @ 1:00 PM ET) 50. Jews in Visigothic Spain (Scheduled for Monday @1:00 PM ET) Researchers: The Amazing Journey of Yisrael……
Jewish History Lab Report for February 5, 2021. Videos dropping next week (advance viewing for Students now available): Researchers video: Text version at JTA here. Colleagues Live Class on Wednesday: Jews in Visigothic Iberia Other Publications: The German Convert who Illustrated the Maxwell House Haggadah Have an excellent Shabbos! Looking forward to learning more Jewish……

Hello fellow students of Jewish History! Here’s this week’s Jewish History Lab Report. Dropping next week: Researchers Video: Who Illustrated the Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695? Next Week: Under Christian Rule A Bird-Headed Haggadah (Why?) https://www.thejewishstar.com/Print_E…

A brief overview of some historiographic theory as it relates to Jewish history, also considering the impact of Postmodernism. Here’s a link to Rosman, Moshe. How Jewish is Jewish History?. United Kingdom: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2009. Another fairly recent and important work is Yerushalmi, Yosef Hayim. Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory. United Kingdom: University of Washington Press, 2011.

Good morning fellow students of Jewish History! Do you watch the Jewish History Lab series? If so, please contribute your thoughts in this brief, anonymous survey. We’ll be starting the second semester later this month, and I value your opinion! https://bit.ly/jhljanuary2021

Sunday, January 10, 8pm. Sponsored by Congegration Darchei Noam of Fair Lawn, NJ. Register at dno.am/5781/webinar.

The Holocaust Writings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira (The Aish Kodesh הי׳׳ד) Please join me on Sunday, January 10 at 8PM ET for a discussion of the Warsaw Ghetto experience of the Aish Kodesh, and what lessons we may glean for the present season of quarantine. http://dno.am/5781/webinar
Hello fellow students of Jewish history! I hope this message finds you and your loved ones healthy and secure. Just a brief note to let you know the website will have some reduced functionality over the next week or so. I like to take the turn-over of the Gregorian calendar to renovate and reorganize my……


