Shabbat in Rosyln, NY; Hello from Jerusalem;

Really looking forward to meeting this community!


Message recorded from Jerusalem last week


Medieval Antisemitism and the Spanish Inquisition

Invitation to LCM Breakfast; Caribbean Jews and the History of Chocolate; Spanish Disputations and the Pogroms of 1391

Please join me at our First Annual Breakfast!


Jews and Chocolate! Who knew?


Disputations and the Pogroms of 1391

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

  • Study Jewish History in Moscow!

    Study Jewish History in Moscow!

    This amazing trip is now open to non-matriculated, visiting students! Join us–it promises to be a fantastic experience.  Email me at abramson@touro.edu for more information.

  • Who Was Rabbi Moshe Cordovero?

      The sixteenth century witnessed a phenomenal, short-lived explosion of Jewish spiritual creativity, centered in the sleepy Galilean town of Safed (Tsfat). Along with greats such as Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero was one of the founders of that unusual place, attracting still more Rabbis and especially Kabbalists to the mountaintop community, including Rabbi……

  • Who Was Nahmanides?

    A brilliant 13th-century scholar of Rabbinic thought, Nahmanides’ defense of Judaism in a forced Church-sponsored debate earned him exile from his native Spain. An elderly sage, he emigrated to the Land of Israel, where he found a tiny Jewish community, desperately hanging onto the traditions of their ancestors. Summoning upon an immense reserve of energy,……

  • The Land of Israel from Bar Kochba to the Muslim Conquest

    Brief survey of the major historical developments and themes affecting the land of Israel between the 2nd-century Bar Kochba rebellion and the Muslim conquest in the seventh century. Part of the Israel: The Land and its People series.

  • Who Was Rabbi Akiva?

    Certainly one of the greatest Rabbis of the entire Talmud, Akiva son of Joseph did not begin his study of Judaism before adulthood. His trajectory of incredible spiritual growth was punctuated by moments of great personal tragedy, and his martyrdom at the hands of the Romans after the failed second-century Bar-Kochba revolt has an enduring……

  • Who Was King Herod?

    One of the greatest builders of ancient Israel, King Herod exploited his power as a Roman-sponsored ruler to develop the Temple, yet earned a reputation as a feared tyrant responsible for horrific massacres. HIs rule set the tone for the political climate in the Land of Israel during the tumultuous decades prior to the growth……

  • Who Was Yohanan Kohen Gadol?

    Born in the times of the Hasmonean rebellion celebrated with the holiday of Chanukah, Yohanan Cohen Gadol was one of the most prominent Jewish leaders during the brief period of Jewish freedom in the 2nd century BCE. Caught in the swirling controversy of internal religious debate, in his old age he abandoned his Pharisaic roots……

  • Who Was King David?

    “Sweet singer of Israel,” David was the poet-warrior King who led the Jewish people to political and cultural prominence. Denied his most cherished goal of building the Temple, he lived a life of great personal challenge and heroic resurgence from tragedy, and his biography left an indelible mark on the Jewish understanding of leadership.

  • Who Was Joshua?

    The Bible describes how the Jewish people, emerging from Egyptian servitude and decades of wandering in the Sinai desert, followed Joshua’s military leadership to conquer the Land of Israel and establish the ancient foundations of their Torah-centered society. This lecture will survey the archeological and historical record to understand the larger context of the Biblical……

  • Webinar on First Century Judaism Monday March 13, 6:00 pm EST

    Webinar on First Century Judaism Monday March 13, 6:00 pm EST

    Join me for a live webinar on the complex topic of Judaism in the first century on Monday, March 13 at 6:00 pm EST. We will look at several of the most important themes of this century: the conflict with the Romans that ended in the destruction of the Temple, the sectarian movements including the……

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


  • Who Was Rabenu Bayha?

    Who Was Rabenu Bayha?

    This was a huge amount of fun. If you are into Duties of the Heart, I think you will like this lecture! The video has a reference to Despacito by The Maccabeats, link provided below. Enjoy in good health!

  • Lectures now on TorahAnytime.com

    Lectures now on TorahAnytime.com

    I’m really happy that TorahAnytime.com is including my lectures, starting with The Jews of Sepharad series! Sign up for a free membership–there are some amazing speakers at TorahAnytime.com.

  • Rabbi Efrem Goldberg on The Aish Kodesh

    Rabbi Efrem Goldberg on The Aish Kodesh

    I was stopped on my way in to davening this morning by someone who told me about the incredible shiur that Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of Boca Raton Synagogue gave on the Aish Kodesh this week. Here’s the excerpt–Rabbi Goldberg captures the agony of the Rebbe after the loss of his family in his typically powerful……

  • Tonight in the Five Towns

    Tonight in the Five Towns

  • Honored to receive this Review by the Kosher Bookworm

    Honored to receive this Review by the Kosher Bookworm

    Please click here to read the review at The Jewish Star. By Alan Jay Gerber The name and history of the Aish Kodesh in our community is well known. This legacy from the tragedy of the Warsaw Ghetto of one of its towering leaders, Rebbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira, the Aish Kodesh, has been taught to us……

  • Thank you.

    Thank you.

    I was deeply moved by the kind support of my research into the life of the Aish Kodesh at the book launch this week. By all accounts, it was a wonderful evening–we had such a diverse crowd in attendance, from pious Hasidim well familiar with the Piaseczno Rebbe to students who knew nothing about his……

  • Piaseczno Visualization Exercise

    Piaseczno Visualization Exercise

    Thanks to Rabbi Pesach Sommer for recording my brief comments at the conclusion of the hilula (74th anniversary of his martyrdom) for Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira at The Shtiebl in Williamsburg, NY. SHOW MORE

  • Review by Rabbi Pesach Sommer

    Review by Rabbi Pesach Sommer

    Very grateful to Rabbi Pesach Sommer for writing a kind and generous review of Torah from the Years of Wrath! My favorite passage is at the end: “Dr. Abramson has written a book which is destined to lead to an increase of study of the rebbe’s Torah and thought in both the academic and Jewish……

  • What Torah from the Years of Wrath is All About

    What Torah from the Years of Wrath is All About

    Please watch this brief video. Really hoping you will join us for the book launch on Monday, October 30! Please visit bit.ly/aishkodesh to RSVP and for more information.

  • Deciphering the Rosetta Stone of the Holocaust

    Deciphering the Rosetta Stone of the Holocaust

      The Aish Kodesh died 74 years ago, martyred in the Trawniki labor camp. Now, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira is at the center of a surge of new research into the most profound questions surrounding the Holocaust. A new critical edition, prepared with phenomenal scholarly energy by Daniel Reiser, demonstrates that we have just started……

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

Jews under the Visigoths II; The Spanish Golden Age

Public at 10am ET (44 minutes)


Online Courses in Jewish History

A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz

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.

Dropping on Sunday, September 22 at 10am ET. 70 minutes.


A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz

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