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
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The Khmel’nyts’kyi Rebellion in Ukraine in 1648-49)
The Jewish History Lab lecture series resumes with live, in-person meetings at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst on Wednesday nights at 7:30 pm. Free and open to the community! Zoom link available to YILC members and their guests. YouTube Channel members (Colleagues): please check your Community Tab for the link.
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Jews and Crypto-Jews in Spain and Portugal (premiers at 12 noon ET)
Six brief videos chronicling the 2021 journey with Kosher Riverboat Cruises up the Douro River to Salamanca, Spain and back through Portugal. A wonderful fantastic look at the rich history of Jews in the Iberian Peninsula, from the earliest settlement in Roman colonies (possibly earlier!) through the Visigoths, then the brief but brilliant Golden Age…
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The Kabbalists of Safed (12 Noon ET)
A brief discussion of the sudden rise of Kabbalistic study in 16th century Safed (Tsfat, Tsfas).
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The Aharonim (12:30 pm ET)
Today at 12:30 pm ET: a brief discussion of the stage of Jewish religious/literary activity that began in the 16th century, collectively known as the period of the Aharonim (the latter ones, distinguishing them from the Rishonim, or earlier ones).
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Origins of the Jews of Poland and Eastern Europe (1pm ET)
Good morning fellow students of Jewish history! Join me at 1pm today for a brief discussion of the medieval origins of the once large Jewish population of Poland and Eastern Europe.
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The Sephardic Diaspora (today at 12 Noon ET)
Please join us for a brief (24m) discussion of the first century of the Sephardic diaspora. Wishing everyone a blessed New Year!
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Mussar in Jewish History: Crisis and Resurgence?
Is it possible that the classic works of the Jewish ethical tradition are literary reactions to personal crises? Can we approach the great works of Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto and others as strong responses to devastating reversals in their personal lives? Please join me at 12pm (ET, New York Time) for…
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Origins of the Jews of India
GM–Join me today at 12 noon ET (New York Time) for a premiere and live chat on the origins of the Jews of India.
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Interview in Der Veker
I was delighted to participate in this in-depth, far-reaching conversation with the talented and insightful editor of @DerVeker, who insisted on asking a lot of hard questions. How’s your Yiddish?
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Origins of the Jews of China
This is an absolutely fascinating topic, I really enjoyed the research! Please join me for a live chat and video of Jewish Migration Patterns, followed by a longer look at the remarkable history of the Jews of China. Starting at 1pm ET (New York Time).
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
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The Walls of the Warsaw Ghetto: The Rebbe on Parashat Metsora, 1940
In early April 1940, Warsaw Jews were distressed to witness the initial construction of walls in several parts of the city. Up until this point, the concentration of Jews in certain parts of Warsaw was effected by administrative decree, with few permanent physical structures demarcating the boundaries of the ghetto. Debates raged within the Nazi…
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The Kabbalah of Forgiveness: Spanish Cover!
Happy to see this Spanish translation of The Kabbalah of Forgiveness forthcoming in the next few weeks! The cover is really striking. Thanks to Jésica Neuah at Editorial Perspectivas!
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Monday Night: Rabbi Eli Mansour on The Cairo Geniza! Me too. At The WELL
Can’t see the video? Try clicking here.
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The Window at Pomeranz! Gan Eden?
Wow–just heard that Torah from the Years of Wrath got promoted to the window display at M. Pomeranz Books in Jerusalem! Thanks to my friend Dr. Mike Chigel for plugging the book to MR. POMERANZ HIMSELF, shown here just outside the display!
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Sephardim and the Holocaust
In commemoration of Yom Ha-Shoah, our Jewish History lecture on Monday night will be dedicated to a topic frequently overlooked in discussions of the Holocaust: the experience of Sephardim. Please click here for details. Most of my own published work on the Holocaust has been in the Askhenazic world, notably my recent study of the…
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With Rabbi Eli Mansour for The WELL
Very honored to be speaking with Rabbi Eli Mansour for The WELL, a wonderful new institution dedicated to women’s education in the Sephardic community. Please spread the word! This lecture is open to men and women.
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Ukrainians and Jews in Revolutionary Times, 1917-1920
Available from Amazon Hardcover 15% off at Lulu After the fall of the Russian Empire, Jewish and Ukrainian activists worked to overcome previous mutual antagonism by creating a Ministry of Jewish Affairs within the new Ukrainian state and taking other measures to satisfy the national aspirations of Jews and other non-Ukrainians. This bold experiment ended…
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7th Day of Passover in the Warsaw Ghetto
After several weeks without recording a drashah, perhaps related to the horrendous typhus outbreak of the late winter of 1941, the Rebbe delivered a series of powerful derashot for the Passover holiday. On the Seventh Day of Pesach he turned his attention to the subject of Torah learning. The memoirs of Chaim Kaplan, a former principal, describe…
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Passover in the Warsaw Ghetto: Inspiration for the Second Seder
Passover in the Warsaw Ghetto: Inspiration for the Second Seder Taken from Torah from the Years of Wrath (Aish Kodesh) אני מבקש ומתחנן לפני כל אחד מישראל שילמוד בספרי, ובטח זכות אבותי הקדושים זצוקלל״ה יעמוד לו ולכל ביתו בזה ובבא “I request and plead every person of Israel to study my works—surely the merit of…
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Who Was Judah Touro? The Sephardic Diaspora pt. 6
Brief lecture on the life and work of Judah Touro, an important 19th-century American philanthropist for whom, together with his father Isaac, Touro College was named.
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The Piaseczno Rebbe on Shabbat Ha-Gadol in the Warsaw Ghetto (April 5, 1941)
School principal Chaim Kaplan recorded the bleak mood in the Warsaw Ghetto on the eve of Passover of the Hebrew year 5701 (1941): Like the Egyptian Passover, the Passover of Germany will be celebrated for generations. The chaotic oppression of every day throughout this year of suffering will be reflected in the days of the…
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
Jewish Resilience After October 7; American Jews, Post-Honeymoon; The Jews of Al-Andalus
Three Strategies
Jews under the Visigoths II; The Spanish Golden Age
Public at 10am ET (44 minutes)
Online Courses in Jewish History
