Really looking forward to meeting this community!

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




Latest Episode of the Jewish History Lab Join me this Shabbos in Manhattan at the extremely cool Altneu Synagogue! I just thought this was so fascinating. Season 2 Finale: Sara Schenirer! Click here to listen to Yael and Schwab discuss the life and work of this remarkable woman!

Who is a Jew? An Israelite? A Hebrew? Two New Podcasts from Yael and Schwab The Expulsion of Ashkenazi Jews and the Origins of Polish Jewry

Two 16th Century Protestant Thinkers on How to Deal with Jews The Amazing Talmud of the Land of Israel!

Click here for Yael and Schwab’s discussion of the heroic, poetic Hannah Szenes. New Episodes in the Jewish History Lab series

Always amazed with the great team at Unpacked Honored to have made a small contribution to this sophisticated yet humorous video. This is a really bizarre story: the tragic controversy over cantorial style in Amsterdam, 1709 New Videos in the Birth of Ashkenaz Series

Really impressed with the amazing team at Unpacked! Very proud to have a small share in putting this video together. Three New Videos on Medieval Ashkenaz View the whole playlist here: Wuhsha the Broker: An Amazing Story from the Cairo Geniza Yael and Schwab ar the ULTIMATE Jewish history Nerds! Very thrilled that the second……

Ever wonder why Havdalah Boxes look like little towers? Who was Carl Lutz? Another complex and powerful video from the team at Unpacked Meet this 20th c. Italian Villager who Invented Judaism from scratch The story of Danuto Manduzio and the Jews of San Nicandro, Italy.

While I was in Budapest with the Ashkenazium, two really amazing episodes of the Jewish History Nerds podcast dropped. Fantastic experience working with Yael, Schwab and Rivky at Jewish History Nerds! Click here for the latest episodes: Sara Copia Sullam and Johannes Eisenmenger, or wherever you get your free podcasts. Great Conversation with Jeff Cohen……

Join Dr. Daniel Reiser, Dr. Michael Chighel and myself for a discussion of the life and works of the holy Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapiro. The schedule of presentations and discussions is available here. Admission is free, but you have to be in Budapest: Duna utca 1, 18:00. For those of you who live elsewhere, we……

Emma Goldman, “The most dangerous woman in America.” Yael and Schwab knock this Jewish History Nerds podcast OUT OF THE PARK. Really proud to work with the team at Jewish Unpacked! Listen where you get your podcasts. Jews and the Right to Bear Arms in Early Ashkenaz Register for the History of Ashkenaz Course!

Really looking forward to speaking in the Holy City of Brooklyn for Project inspire! Please join us. Jewish History Nerds, Season 2, begins with King Herod! Really enjoy working with Yael, Schwab and Rivky at Unpacked! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Birth of Ashkenaz Series Continues: New Videos!

Did this 9th century Churchman read the Bible–and convert to Judaism? Why did this Iranian Muslim save Jews in the Holocaust? Really proud to work with the talented team at Unpacked on these new videos. Two New Videos for the upcoming Ashkenazium lectures in Budapest

Okay, this is cool: just saw the trailer for a documentary project I worked on several months ago. I can’t wait to see the whole thing! I was especially honored to work with Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, world expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and senior scholar in Jewish history (he’s the last talking head in……

A scholar and a fighter, the Hatam Sofer articulated a definition of Orthodoxy for the modern era.

Brief video lecture on the life and work of Isaac of Vienna (c. 1180-c. 1250), author of the important Or Zaru’a.

We begin our discussion of the Jews of the Danube with the question: “Who Was Isaac of Vienna (the Or Zaru’a)?”

Unexpected and unexplained, a phalanx of glass obelisks emerge silently from the earthen mound, punctuating the atmosphere above what appears to be an anonymous tel. Some are transparent, others pebbled and translucent, but all glow with a faint green hue. Unyielding, they stand in rigid formation on the angled surface of the earth. These mute……

When the Hungarians purchased their alphabet, vowels were on sale (also plastic sofa coverings and chandeliers). By the time the Poles came around, all that was left were the consonants. This helps explain why we anglophones are so challenged by both languages: in the case of Hungarian, there are just way too many umlauts and……

Abandoned Nazi trucks were discovered by children playing in the shallows of the diminished Danube.

Hello fellow students of Jewish history! Today our exploration of Jewish heritage along the Danube River valley begins in Budapest, home to one of the largest concentrations of Jews at the turn of the 20th century. I’m really thrilled to be together with so many people who share my passion for the amazing story of……
Part One of The Jews of the Danube series (Fall 2018). Several lectures to be presented live in Europe this month, planning to return to Brooklyn for more live lectures beginning November 5. Enjoy in good health!

This article appeared, in slightly abbreviated form, in today’s Forward. So many colleagues and friends–fellow students of the Rebbe–contributed moving quotations on the Facebook page dedicated to the Rebbe. Laura Adkins’ editorship at the Forward is really great, and the final version is certainly more appropriate for the wider audience. If you would like to……


