Really looking forward to meeting this community!

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




Wondering how to harness the power of the Internet for effective teaching? Confused and maybe alarmed by all the talk about using social media as a pedagogic tool? Sign up for these three workshops for teachers by visiting http://www.miamijewisheducators.org! A project of Touro College South and The Shul.

Pakistani terrorists attacked the Chabad House in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, 29th of Heshvan, 5769 (26 November 2008). Part of a concerted attack that killed 179 and wounded hundreds, they murdered the young Chabad emissaries running the house, Rabbi Gavriel and Mrs. Rivky Holtzberg. Their infant son, who turned two the day after his parents…

Who, exactly, wrote down the foundational texts of the Oral Torah? Who is responsible for the compiling of the Talmud? These were some of the questions addressed to Sherira Gaon, the Rosh Yeshiva of the great city of Pumbedita in Babylon in 987 by a young Rabbi in Tunisia. His famous response, preserved for over…

Hannah Szenes was a young Hungarian Jewish woman who joined the resistance in 1943, parachuting into Nazi-occupied territories with British support. She was captured and tortured, but did not divulge secret information on her colleagues. Her poetry, including the classic “Blessed is the Match,” survive and add to her legacy.

Credited with the popularization of Christianity, Saul (later Paul) of Tarsus was influential in mediating Jewish ideas to an increasingly Gentile audience. Combining appealing concepts such as life after death and a personal Deity with a relaxed approach to the requirements of Rabbinic Judaism, the former Pharisee succeeded in spreading Christianity well beyond its narrow…

Vladimir Ze’ev Jabotinsky (1880-1940) was one of the most influential political thinkers in the first half of the twentieth century, founder of the Revisionist movement.

Compiled by Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Nasi in an exceptionally difficult time for the Jewish people, the Mishnah created the possibility of creating a “portable Judaism.” After the destruction of the Temple in 70 and the dramatic escalation of the diaspora, the Mishnah allowed Jews to define their religion within an intellectual and textual context, outside of…

Virtually ignored by Jewish philosophers, Philo of Alexandria represented the high point of synthesis between Greek and Jewish thought in the ancient world, and had a huge influence on early Christian thinkers. A prominent representative of the Egyptian Jewish community to the Roman Emperor, and well-respected in his day by his coreligionists, he nevertheless had…

Wrongly accused of espionage, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was sentenced to Devil’s Island on the basis of remarkably tenuous evidence. May critics, including the famous writer Emile Zola, argued that Dreyfus was unfairly charged simply because he was a Jew in the French army. As evidence mounted that another officer was guilty, the Dreyfus Affair exposed…

Captured by the Romans, Josephus was a Jewish general who ultimately served as a military advisor to General Titus. Josephus recorded his first-hand observations of the destruction of the Temple, and went on to a brilliant literary career in Rome, describing Jews and Judaism to a wider audience. Who was Josephus–traitor to his people or…

Rembrandt is well-known for his depictions of Jewish subjects, both as contemporary portraits and as models for Christian biblical characters.


Public at 10am ET (44 minutes) Online Courses in Jewish History

This is one of the most bizarre periods of Jewish history, and that’s saying a lot.

New Lecture Series: The History of Sephardic Jewry

Stories of Personal Transformation for Elul Napoleon’s 1808 Imperial Decree on Jewish Names The History of Sephardic Jewry (Lecture, 75 minutes) Jews, Wine, and Bordeaux (7 minutes)

Jewish Resilience after the Bar Kochba Rebellion New Series! Cool Things I Read in the Encyclopedia Judaica YouTube Colleagues: Volume II of The Jewish People: A History now appearing online

Revised with several more videos, new online quizzes to test your knowledge of Biblical Jewish History! Napoleon’s 12 Questions and the Fateful Jewish Answers Depictions of Jewish Women in the Tripartite Mahzor

I can’t believe the audience stayed for almost two hours. Tisha B’Av lecture at Congregation Ahavat Torah in Englewood, New Jersey Tu B’Av in Jewish History Shabbaton in Washington, September 13-14

Fascinating look at a heroic Jewish woman of Bordeaux Who knew that Bilaam (Balaam) would have regional celebrity? Part III of Interview with Global Gambit (don’t judge by the thumbnail please)

An amazing encounter between two 18th century Jewish geniuses Not 100% accurate (e.g. I’m not a Rabbi) but I’m flattered by the attention Joanne Palmer devoted to my story. Can’t believe she included my Bar Mitzvah picture.

I am honored, and also humbled, by this promotion. Lander College for Men is a remarkable division of Touro University, ably led for 25 years by its founding Dean, Rabbi Dr. Moshe Sokol. (Courtesy of Touro University) Dr. Henry Abramson was named dean of Touro’s Lander College for Men, Touro President Dr. Alan Kadish announced. Most…


