Love Jewish history, especially when spiced with radical politics? Consider clicking right here to sponsor Monday night’s lecture on Emma Goldman, dubbed “the most dangerous woman in America” by the FBI! Here’s a video featuring a few of her comments after briefly returning to America fifteen years after she was deported to the Soviet Union.  My favorite……

Hello fans of Jewish History! Just an important reminder that we will NOT be having a lecture in Brooklyn on Monday, November 14, 2016.  I’ll be returning from Toronto, where I’m serving as a scholar-in-residence at the Westmount Shul and Learning Center.  I’m honored that the paid events are sold out, but guests are welcome……

Mystic and early Zionist, Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook’s challenging and eclectic philosophy has inspired generations of Jews since his passing in 1935. Often misunderstood, Rav Kook’s role as one of the principal Rabbinic figures of the era was foundational for establishing a religious ideology for the the modern, secular and democratic state of Israel.

If you don’t see the image below, just click on the computer gibberish–it’s worthwhile, I think. https://prezi.com/embed/kav7clixcgsk/?bgcolor=ffffff&lock_to_path=0&autoplay=0&autohide_ctrls=0&landing_data=bHVZZmNaNDBIWnNjdEVENDRhZDFNZGNIUE43MHdLNWpsdFJLb2ZHanI0OUQvUVFudmV5bG9sK3hTY29TMUloYWJ3PT0&landing_sign=u34CgACTn0rcx2HUs61pv1gkchtDedyX2LT9yTgjNRg

Spiritual Leadership in Times of Controversy: Three Rabbinic Portraits Purified in the crucible of bitter opposition, the legacy of these three Rabbis endures despite the dissent that swirled around their major intellectual contributions. Wednesday, November 16 Burning Maimonides Wednesday, November 30 Ramchal and the Sabbatean Legacy Wednesday, December 7 Rav Kook at the Precipice 8:30……

Hello fans of Jewish history! I had a blast meeting with the Flatbush Honor Society students today–twenty-eight highly motivated, superbly acute and brilliant young women who are preparing to CHANGE THE WORLD. They are truly fantastic, and often thank the Almighty for the privilege of working with these young people, along with all my students….…

Norm Robinson, a member of the Friends of Jewish History, sent me this interesting video clip that features Rav Avraham Isaac Kook for the first 23 seconds, along with several other rabbinic and political luminaries. Monday’s lecture promises to be especially fascinating for anyone interested in religious thought and Israeli politics.  Please join us!  Register……

Lecture delivered at the mighty Avenue J campus of Touro College on October 31, 2016 as part of the Jewish History @ J series. Zionist ideologue and multi-lingual journalist, Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky was one of the most influential political thinkers of the early twentieth century. Frequently swimming against the tide of dominant Jewish movements, Jabotinsky……

Here’s some amazing 1934 footage of Vladimir Jabotinsky discussing the status of the Jews in interwar Europe–and the crushing need for the establishment of the State of Israel.  Jabotinsky was one of the few Jewish thinkers of the 1930s who anticipated, in one form or another, the Holocaust that would engulf European Jewry.  He speaks in……

Thanks to all the parents who submitted their children’s names as candidates for the Internship in Jewish History. Unfortunately, I can only consider applications from people who are willing to take the job. Here’s the revised job description: Intern in Jewish History: Hard work, long hours, meager compensation. Chance at everlasting fame and glory, promoting……

The Jews of the Danube Fall 2018 Lecture Series Lectures in Europe: October 2018 Lectures in Brooklyn: November-December 2018 From its headwaters in Germany’s Black Forest to its final destination in the Black Sea, the Danube River flows through ten countries and over ten centuries of Jewish history. Great cities like Vienna and Budapest punctuate……

Hello friends and colleagues: Thank you for your consistent support and enthusiasm. I am delighted that so many people share my passion for Jewish history and thought, and consider it a rare privilege to share my research with you online and in person. I wish you all a blessed New Year of spiritual and material……

Hello everyone! Please visit this site for my translation of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero’s classic Tomer Devorah (The Kabbalah of Forgiveness), a text often studied at precisely this time of year as we strive to improve our relationships with each other, with G-d, and with ourselves. The site also features a series of brief videos on each……

The Jews of the Danube Fall 2018 Lecture Series From its headwaters in Germany’s Black Forest to its final destination in the Black Sea, the Danube River flows through ten countries and over ten centuries of Jewish history. Great cities like Vienna and Budapest punctuate its course through East-Central Europe, the cradle of much of……

The invisible yet palpable echo of the crypto-Jewish tradition resonates through Portugal like the far side of a conversation faintly overheard in another person’s cell phone. A rush of sibilants or an exclamation of laughter confirms the reality of the distant interlocutor, even though we do not see her before us. The history of Portugal’s…

Join me in this global effort to prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year!

Hasidim of the Aish Kodesh should take note: this is likely the face of one of the murderers of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira hy”d. Jakiw Palij, a longtime resident of Queens, New York, was recently extradited to Germany for filing false information while immigrating to the United States after World War II. Palij served as……

Hello students, friends and colleagues– We still have a few hours before the onset of Shabbat and the possible arrival of Mashiach, but if we have to make it through another Tisha B’Av– If you are in Fort Lee, NJ Sunday morning or Crown Heights, Brooklyn Sunday afternoon, please join me for presentations on the……

Thanks to Ben Rothke for this kind review of Torah from the Years of Wrath in this week’s Jewish Link of New Jersey. I am very grateful to be a part of the community that values and spreads the teachings of the Piaseczno Rebbe; nice to see positive reviews! Keeping the Faith By Ben Rothke……

  Hello everyone– My father’s yortsayt is coming up next week, and as in previous years I hope to begin another cycle of study of Maimonides on Teshuvah. Please visit the Maimonides on Teshuvah page page to learn more about how to participate in this free, Global Study of Maimonides program. Posts will also appear……