My son Alexander shows up in official Miami Marathon video at 0:38 seconds (red bandana) http://youtu.be/gxJRzYzQfoQ Please sponsor him at http://www.teamfriendship.org/Alexander to help kids with disabilities!
Baruch Spinoza: Philosophy and Tolerance
Revered by many as a pivotal figure in modern religious philosophy yet reviled by his contemporaries in the Jewish community of Amsterdam, Baruch Spinoza was placed in herem (excommunication) in 1666 for his public pronouncements challenging religious doctrine. Part of the Jewish Biography as History lecture series by Dr. Henry Abramson.
Please Support Alexander’s Marathon Bid for Friendship Circle

Hello everyone: my son Alexander is once again training to run the ING Miami Marathon to raise funds for Friendship Circle, a non-profit organization that helps children, teens and adults with special needs. Alexander is an avid runner with a long history of running for charitable causes: in 2010 he ran his first half-marathon (at age 12) and raised several thousand dollars for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation. Since then he’s been running with Team Friendship, and really counts on your support to help kids with various disabilities (the attached brief video, created by his sister Danit Malka, tells the story). Please support his bid to complete his second full marathon by visiting www.teamfriendship.org and sponsoring this organization generously. Thank you!
Rabbi Isaac Luria (The Arizal) Jewish Biographies Lecture

Emerging from the sixteenth-century Safed Circle of Jewish mystics, Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Arizal) was a pivotal figure in the history of Kabbalah. His influence on later Jewish movements, in particular Hasidism, is still felt to this day. Part of the Jewish Biography as History lecture series by Dr. Henry Abramson.
David Reubeni: Politics and the Messiah

David Reubeni was one of the most colorful messianic figures of Jewish history. A little person with a shady background, he was received with dignity by Popes and Kings in the fifteenth century, regaling them with tales of the Jews of the east and promising them great military victories should they enlist his service. He gathered Jewish followers around Europe, eventually attracting the unwanted attention of the Inquisition. Part of the Jewish Biography as History lecture series by Dr. Henry Abramson.
Nahmanides: Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman
Nahmanides (Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman, or Ramban) was one of the most important thinkers of Jewish history. Brilliantly creative and intellectually courageous, his commentary on the Torah is widely studied eight centuries after his passing. Part of the Jewish Biography as History series by Dr. Henry Abramson.
Henrietta Szold: Founder of Hadassah

American-born Henrietta Szold was an extremely influential Zionist leader and organizer, founder of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America.
To view the Prezi associated with this video, click here.
Nicholas Donin: The Dimensions of Medieval Jewish Self-Hatred

Nicholas Donin was an erstwhile Talmudic scholar who converted to Christianity and made a career of denouncing the Talmud. His charges, brought before the Pope, resulted in a massive destruction of priceless Jewish manuscripts in Paris, 1242. Part of the Jewish Biography as History lecture series by Dr. Henry Abramson.
Rabenu Gershom: Me’or Ha-Golah Jewish Biography as History
![Jews in Synagogue, 15th c. Mantua, Italy. (Codex Rossianus 555, fol. 12v) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://henryabramson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/synagogue_cod-_rossian-_555.jpg?w=736)


