Lectures in Jewish History and Thought. No hard questions, please.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/4NiMJmLh068]
A brief biography of Sigmund Freud, with emphasis on his Jewish background and identity. Part of the Jewish Biography as History Series, more available at http://www.henryabramson.com.
An introduction to the major themes in modern antisemitic ideology (1880-present). Warning: not quite as nasty as the lecture on medieval antisemitism, but disturbing nevertheless. Part of the Essential Lectures in Jewish History series, more available at http://www.henryabramson.com.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/8hb_G62BgaM]
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, also known as “Der Frierdiker Rebbe” (The Earlier Rebbe) to distinguish him from his successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was the sixth leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Living in tumultuous times, he shifted the center of the movement from its Eastern European origins to its current headquarters in the United States.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/J56OBH6yIj0]
Heinrich Graetz (1817-1891) was the first encyclopedic historian of the Jewish people, and his massive 10-volume History of the Jews had a phenomenal impact on the way Jews saw themselves as a nation living in the diaspora.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/OqeRpiVQ-9Y]
Looking forward to seeing you at Limmud this Sunday! Click the image below to learn more about my presentation on The Kabbalah of Forgiveness: Rabbi Moshe Cordovero and the 13 Levels of Mercy.
Imagine that, while browsing in the library, you come across one book unlike the rest, which catches your eye because on its spine is written the name of your family. Intrigued, you open it and see many pages written by different hands in many languages. You start reading it, and gradually you begin to understand what it is. It is the story each generation of your ancestors has told for the sake of the next, so that everyone born into this family can learn where they came from, what happened to them, what they lived for and why. As you turn the pages, you reach the last, which carries no entry but a heading. It bears your name.
Jonathan Sacks, A Letter in the Scroll
[youtube=http://youtu.be/1yNvmk-uNZE]
We believe:
[youtube=http://youtu.be/nozW9Tu-SFo]
One of the most creative, unusual, and controversial Hasidic leaders at the turn of the 19th century, Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav (Nachman of Breslov) continues to inspire generations of disciples. Part of the Jewish Biography as History series, more available at http://www.henryabramson.com.
One of the strongest critics of early Hasidism, Joseph Perl was a fervent advocate of the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment, in 19th century Galicia. Part of the Jewish Biography as History series by Dr. Henry Abramson, more available at http://www.henryabramson.com.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/hE5emz8XyKo]
This is a more-or-less scholarly discussion of the origins of modern Jewish history in Enlightenment Europe. Warning: there are a few jokes in this video, but they only start around the 15 minute mark. The rest is more theoretical and historical. Part of the Essential Lectures in Jewish History series, more available at http://www.henryabramson.com.
****************
Here are a few of Dr. Abramson’s recent publications. He’s not very funny in print (but taller).
[youtube=http://youtu.be/sHdJTGq1qzU]
Gluckel of Hameln, a Jewish woman who lived in late 17th-century Germany, left a remarkable memoir describing her life. Part of the Jewish Biography as History series by Dr. Henry Abramson, more available at http://www.henryabramson.com.
The Jewish people experienced dramatic changes in the sixteenth century that reverberate to this day. This lecture discusses three aspects of this century in particular: 1) the demographic upheavals associated with the expulsions from Spain and Portugal as well as the Ashkenazic migration, 2) the impact of the disruptive technology of printing, and 3) the ramifications of the Safed circle.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/v4ZbOcOoaio]