Really looking forward to meeting this community!

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



Traveling on College business. Sorry to all my loyal in-person students! Please forward this message to your friends (no need to send it to your former friends–if they show up, it serves them right, eh?).
Please enjoy this week’s column in the Five Towns Jewish Times! http://5tjt.com/mesilat-yesharim/

Presentation on the history of the Khazar conversion to Judaism, with updated material based on recent research.
Please enjoy my latest feature in the Five Towns Jewish Times! http://5tjt.com/people-of-the-book-classic-works-of-the-jewish-tradition-3/

Lecture on the great 2nd-century Rabbi Meir, one of the most important figures in the history of Jewish thought in ancient Israel. Here’s the link to the Prezi.

People of the Book: Classics of the Jewish Tradition Please click here for the original article in the Five Towns Jewish Times by Dr. Henry Abramson Rabbi Moshe Cordovero’s ‘Tomer Devorah’ “Even if you cannot find any reason to forgive a person, there was nevertheless once a time when this person did no wrong. Think……

Lecture on Against Apion, an important literary response to antisemitism in the Roman Empire written by the 1st century historian Flavius Josephus. And here’s the Prezi: http://prezi.com/yzmhlmrhf2ac/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy.

We begin the Fall 2015 Lectures in Jewish History series with a presentation on the life and work of Judah (Yehudah) Maccabee, famed military commander of the Hasmonean revolt. Enjoy in good health! Here’s the link to the Prezi.

Please enjoy my first column in the Five Towns Jewish Times! People of the Book: Classic Works of the Jewish Tradition By Dr. Henry Abramson According to my knowledge of the words of the Sages and the history of the Jewish people in general, we have never experienced such horrific suffering as has been visited……

JEWISH HISTORY @ AVENUE J A Community Project of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences Monday Evenings, 7-8 pm, 1602 Avenue J, Brooklyn NY 11230 Beginning October 19, 2015 Open to the Community Separate Seating All Lectures are Free of Charge


Some historical reflections on the Fast of the 10th of Tevet.
Good afternoon fellow students of Jewish history! Please click here for the Fall 2020 series in Jewish history: an experiment I’m calling Jewish History Lab. Beginning with the Ancient Period!

Thanks to Laura Adkins and Philissa Cramer for really strong edits in today’s article in JTA. (JTA) The intermediate days of Sukkot in the holy city of Brooklyn are normally a time of singing, prayer and communal fellowship. This year the celebrations were marred by violence. Egged on by a rabble-rousing individual who literally wore a political bumper sticker on……

Hasidism, Suffering, and Renewal: The Prewar and Holocaust Legacy of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira. Forthcoming June 2021.

Some thoughts on what the pandemic means for Jewish history. Welcome to the Future, Third Time Around Historians Will Mark 2020 as a Revolutionary Year for Higher Education October 05, 2020 Dr. Henry Abramson Dr. Henry Abramson, historian and dean of Touro’s Lander College of Arts & Sciences, puts the transition to remote learning into……

Really honored to speak to Ms. Kathie Larkin’s bright, motivated 8th graders today about the Holocaust. Thank you Pace Academy for giving me the opportunity to interact with some wonderful young minds! Here’s a brief article on the talk.

Genesis 22–the description of the patriarch Abraham’s binding of his son Isaac and the angelic intervention that followed–is a key text in the Jewish tradition, and forms part of the Torah reading for Rosh Hashanah. Join philosopher Dr. Michael Chighel (Milton Friedman Egyetem, Budapest) and historian Dr. Henry Abramson (Touro College, New York) for a……
A brief overview of infectious disease in Jewish history from ancient times to the present COVID-19 era, and then some thoughts on how to prepare for the High Holidays based on Maimonides’ work on repentance. Join me today for a live chat and premiere of this lecture at 3PM EDT today.

A conversation with Nissim Black and Henry Abramson, moderated by Mordechai Yosef ben Avraham. The panelists and moderator will explore the idea of race and color in Jewish history and culture, and discuss the African and African-American Jewish experience over the centuries and in contemporary America, Europe and Israel. Recognizing that the world is at……


