Very pleased to welcome the 100th student to my new online class on the Holocaust, free and open to the community. When Was the Book of Esther Written? New video available to students registered for the Biblical Jewish History course, and YouTube channel members at the Researcher and Colleague level.

Join us today at 11:00 am ET (New York Time) for a discussion of the implications of Digital Learning for Torah and Torah-adjacent study. Rabbi Schwed is the visionary director of multiple initiatives for the Orthodox Union, including the revolutionary All Daf app, also All Mishnah and All Parsha. Click here to RSVP for the…

The Jewish history Lab begins a discussion of the Holocaust. Premieres today at 12 noon ET (New York Time) with live chat. Join us! Archaeological Forgeries and Biblical History Discussion of the difficulty of working with forged artifacts and the study of Biblical History. This video is available to YouTube Channel members at the Researcher…

We got Zoombombed by Neo-Nazis in the middle of the conference, but I manage to deliver my presentation. Join us at 12 noon ET (New York time) for a premiere and live chat! 23 minutes, presentation is a little different than most of my lectures but still fun I think. I hope. Online Courses

Also: Origins of the Jewish People; Neo-Nazis Zoombomb the Sri Lankan Conference of Jews and Buddhists; Soviet Jews During the Interwar Period, and What’s with the Queen of Heaven Business? What is a Synagogue? 7. A Place of Community (Carpentras, France) Final installment in the What is a Synagogue? series. Amazing things in the basement…

Jewish History lectures, recent and forthcoming. It’s been pretty busy. Jews and Ukrainians in Revolutionary Times Ukrainians and Jews forged an unusual partnership during the brief period that followed the collapse of the Russian Empire, creating a Ministry of Jewish Affairs in a short-lived independent Ukrainian state. The experiment was doomed, however, by the Russian…

Warning: this video deals with issues that some of my fellow students of Jewish history might find philosophically challenging.

Also: what’s with the Eternal Light in the Crypto-Jewish synagogue of Belmonte, Portugal?

Please join this new online course on the History of the Holocaust, free and open to the public. YouTube lectures supplemented with self-testing quizzes and other materials. Why was Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Persecuted by Fellow Jews?

A discussion of the ubiquitous dedicatory plaques in Synagogue history.

What is a Synagogue? 3. A Place of Rejoicing (Dura Europos and YILC) Thank G-d, the hostages in Colleyville, Texas, have been released to safety. Jews all over the world breathe a sigh of relief, and express gratitude to the law enforcement officers for their protection. After the attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh in 2018…

Tomorrow is the tenth of Shvat, an important day of the calendar of Chabad Hasidim. On this day in 1950 the 6th Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, passed away; one year later his son-in-law Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson took over the leadership of Lubavitch Hasidim. His role at the helm of Chabad was truly transformational,…

Thank you to Mr. Paul Shaviv, a scholar and master educator, for supporting the Jewish History @ J series! His donation is in memory of Dr. Yishai Shachar z”l – 1935-1977, whose 39th Yahrzeit was on 5 Tishrei. ‘Haval al d’avdin..’ Historian, teacher, gentleman. On behalf of all the students who benefit from the lectures,…

“Who Was Vladimir Jabotinsky?” is sponsored by Norman and Bridgette Robinson in memory of Leona Robinson of blessed memory. In the words of her son, she was “an avid reader who loved history” who would have enjoyed this lecture. Thank to the Robinsons for becoming the first members of the Friends of Jewish History! Their…

Hello fans of Jewish History! We have some very exciting plans developing for the Fall 2016 lecture series. I’m thinking about organizing a live webcast, live Q&A sessions, and a few other really cool things. We are thinking about how we can bring the lectures to a new level of technical quality, and that’s where you…

Hey, here’s a nice article that Elisheva Schlam put on the Touro College website. They even splurged for a new headshot (above).  I like it, but it makes me look about ten years older than the last one we took, about a decade ago.  View the article in its original context, or read below. This…

I am grateful to Rebecca Odessa, an exceptionally talented artist, who recently created thirteen startling and powerful illustrations of the Thirteen Levels of Mercy as described in Rabbi Moshe Cordovero’s Date Palm of Devorah.  I am so pleased that my translation and commentary, entitled The Kabbalah of Forgiveness, helped her clarify her vision and translate it into these…

Maybe this you’ll like? Maimonides on Teshuvah: The Ways of Repentance Click here for the first chapter and some cool videos on the book. Here’s another book that’s super-appropriate for the High Holidays.  Excellent personal reading, and if someone is really angry with you, makes a great gift! (I have given it to several of…