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


The Tzemach David People Of The Book: Classic Works Of The Jewish Tradition (This article originally appeared in the Five Towns Jewish Times on February 11, 2016.) David Gans (1541–1613) was a scientist and a rabbi in an age when the dual pursuit of these intellectual passions was a life-threatening occupation. He studied Torah under Rabbi……

When Sarra, a bright young poetry lover of 17th century Venice, wrote to a senior literary figure, she thought she was merely expressing her admiration for his literary work. In the end, she was forced to defend publicly her refusal to leave Judaism. Click here for the Prezi. Sarra Copia Sulam’s Manifesto People of the……

People Of The Book: Classic Works Of The Jewish Tradition By Dr. Henry Abramson Few books demonstrate the enduring value of halachah as Dr. Avraham Steinberg’s monumental Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics. We live in an age when the most elemental aspects of the human condition are subject to unprecedented manipulation, with everything from the moment……

David Gans (1541-1613) was a Rabbinic scholar, historian, and astronomer. A student of Rabbi Moshe Isserles and the Maharal of Prague, he collaborated actively with Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler and left behind important scholarly works. Click here for the Prezi.

People Of The Book: Classic Works Of The Jewish Tradition By Dr. Henry Abramson Written with a deep humility that nevertheless could not disguise the author’s brilliance,Sefer HaChinuch remains one of the most thought-provoking halachic studies some 800 years after it first appeared in the Iberian Peninsula. The deceptively simple title, “The Book of Education,” alludes to the anonymous……
The Jewish Star, January 27, 2016 By Celia Weintrob On Rosh Chodesh Shevat, women who attended the Ohel Sara Amen Group in Lawrence enjoyed a lecture by the witty and informative Dr. Henry Abramson about the contribution of women to the Kabbalistic fellowship in Tzfat. Identifying himself as a “specialist in the history of ideas,”……

“Nicholas Copernicus’ book “On the Revolution of the Earth Around the Sun” should be suspended…and that all similar works which contain these teachings should be prohibited.” (Bishop of Albano, March 1616) “Nicholas Copernicus, a scholar of genius…in this domain man is completely at liberty to discover the theory which seems to him to be most……

Battling unseasonably frigid temperatures, Alexander heroically completed his fourth full marathon in Miami today! A tremendous achievement! Most importantly, with your support he surpassed his fundraising target, bringing in a total of $3,299 for Friendship Circle, helping children with autism and other disorders! Congratulations to Alexander, and thank you all for participating!

“When I speak, I regret what I say, but when I am silent, I do not regret. And if I may regret my silence once, I regret speaking many times over.” —Gate 21: The Gate of Silence, The Ways of the Righteous Is it possible that The Ways of the Righteous, among the most influential works……
Source: E-Reading for the People of the Book: How Jews will Adapt to the Digital Revolution We are living in a Gutenberg moment, plunging wildly into an unprecedented age of transformation whose dark contours obscure the uncertain future. The Information Revolution dwarfs the 18th century Industrial Revolution, which was really great at making things bigger……

Please enjoy this week’s column in the Five Towns Jewish Times! The Letter of Nachmanides People Of The Book: Classic Works Of The Jewish Tradition By Dr. Henry Abramson “Accustom yourself to speak gently to all people at all times. This will protect you from anger—a most serious character flaw which causes one to sin.”……

Jewish History @ Avenue J A Community Project of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences 1602 Avenue J Monday Nights, 7-8pm Free and Open to the Community Lectures by Dean Henry Abramson No hard questions, please. February 2016: Jews of the Seventeenth Century Feb 1. David Gans Scientist, historian and theologian, Rabbi Gans bridged the……


