History for the Curious - The Jewish History Podcast

What does Yerushalayim represent? How does the current conflict with Iran impact upon that?   Were the Jews expelled from Jerusalem after the Temple was destroyed? Why did the Romans rebuild the city? Who were the Byzantines who occupied Eretz Yisrael for 300 years? How did the Jews get permission to start rebuilding the Temple and why was it ultimately unsuccessful?  

Chapters

00:00 The Historical Significance of Jerusalem

03:05 ...

The existence of an Oral Law brought about debate and argument. So why not preserve it all in the Written text alone? And how do we decide who is right? Who makes that decision?  Are all Rabbis equally qualified? Can any Jew contribute to Torah?   

Chapters

01:51 The Importance of Oral Law

06:06 Understanding Halacha and Truth

11:50 The Role of Teacher and Student in Torah

17:59 The Nature of Disputes in Torah

24:10 The Concept of...

How do we classify the various sections of the Oral Law (Torah She'Baal Peh)? Is the Oral Law Rabbinic or Biblical? Why do we need an Oral Law? How was it transmitted through the generations?  Why do we record all the arguments in the Talmud and not just the conclusions?  

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Reflections on Jewish Heritage

03:11 Understanding the Oral Law

05:58 Categories of Oral Law

09:00 The Role of Sages in Halach...

Was the 1919 Baseball series really determined by hardline gamblers?

Why did a Rabbi give the eulogy at a gangster’s funeral?

How did Issy Einstein become the greatest Prohibition Agent?

What were the Nazis trying to achieve in America in 1939?

 

Chapters

00:00 The Dark Side of Baseball: The 1919 World Series Fix

16:54 The Rise and Fall of Arnold Rothstein

26:07 Izzy Einstein: The Prohibition Agent Who Became a Legend

27:29 The Dan...

Between the wars - due mainly to Prohibition - crime flourished in America and Jews were not immune to the effects. 

Gangs of irreligious working class Jews, made their fortunes and met their untimely ends during the 20s & 30s. But the narrative is not without a number of surprising twists, particularly in Chicago - the home of Al Capone. 

And why did one notorious thief do Teshuva?

 

Chapters

 

00:00 The Rise of Jewish Gangste...

In the last 150 years, few things have created disputes in Jewish communities, in the way Eruvin has. Why? What makes an Eruv so very different to Kashrus? And in hindsight can we now work out who was right?  Could Yerushalayim hold the key?   

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Eiruv and Jewish Heritage

02:53 The Historical Context of Eiruv in Toronto

05:47 Rabbi Graubart's Contributions to Eiruv

09:01 The Evolution of Eiruv in Tor...

Documents and Responsa from across the Jewish world reveal that for centuries Jews discussed, debated and disagreed over the Shabbos Eruv

Walled cities, canals, telegraph poles, Kabbala, fires and powerful secular rulers all played their role and affected entire communities. And from the 19th century onwards, strong personalities would influence and colour the narrative.

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Erevin and Halacha

03:04 Und...

(To book the Provence trip with Rabbi Tatz & Rabbi Hersh - email giana.elav@gmail.com)

Jewish leadership found itself in a crisis post-1881, affecting not only their options but their identity. In response, Rabbis turned to the international community for help, especially from  non-Jewish politicians.

This period was exacerbated by the public...

1855 brought a new dawn to Russia, and was embraced by many, although poverty remained a constant.

When the Czar was assassinated, all hell broke loose and the Jews were given a stark reminder of their status. By 1897 Socialism, Zionism & Emigration seemed to offer the only routes out.

 

Chapters

00:00 The Shift in Jewish Education and Identity

01:46 The Impact of Tsar Alexander II's Reforms

06:40 The Rise of Jewish Assimilatio...

Given the extreme circumstances, orders went out to remove informers using all available means; which led to arrests, interrogations and harsh sentences.   Meanwhile in 1844, the government issued a new decree forbidding traditional Jewish clothing and head coverings, with dire consequences.   Would Sir Moses Montefiore’s visit alleviate any of these difficult challenges?  

Chapters

00:00 The Struggle Against Forced Assimilation

0...

Czar Nicholas hated Jews and Judaism in equal measure. He initiated 600 decrees against them over a 30 year period, and destroyed community life in Russia. The terror of his reign is relieved only by the faith and courage of families across the Pale of Settlement, carried out in defiance of the secret police and of Jewish informants. 

 

Chapters

00:00 The Jewish Plight in the Russian Empire

02:54 Russian Policies and Jewish Resettl...

For centuries, Russia was home to the largest Jewish community in the world. But why did Jews choose to move to a country that never wanted them?

Understanding this complex history is at the heart of Jewish Modern history.  And was Kiev or Moscow the capital of the Empire.  

Chapters

00:00 Political Intrigue

11:01 The History of Russian Jewry

25:48 Catherine the Great's Reign and Jewish Policies

27:41 The Transformation of the ...

In Eastern Europe quacks and soothsayers were in abundance, as were invented remedies whilst the Ottoman Empire provided refuge from Spain but came with its own risk.

But do the best doctors end up in Hell according to Jewish tradition? Can one give a vaccine that also kills people? And may one smoke on Shabbos to perform better surgery?

 

Chapters

00:00 The Landscape of Medical Practice in 18th Century Russia

02:55 The Role of Jew...

Why did Jewish doctors in the Middle East get involved in Politics?

How should modern day doctors combine ethics and law? How many Jewish women medics were there in Europe? Who were the Chinese Jewish physicians? How do we define sanctity of Life?

And should everyone own a copy of Pu Ji Fang?

 

Chapters

02:34 Jewish Doctors in the Islamic World

09:50 Cultural Interactions and Medical Ethics

15:04 Conversion and Identity Among Jewi...

‘My son-in-law the Doctor’ may be a cliche, but it is based on the very real narrative of thousands of Jewish physicians who practiced through the ages. 

What was their environment during the Middle Ages in Christian Europe? How did Jewish doctors gain their knowledge? Why did the Popes always have a Jewish physician? And how are the Rambam’s medical writings viewed today?

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jewish Medicine and History

...

WWI was a catastrophic event for the Austrian Empire, and the Jews immediately became unwelcome residents. 

When the Chancellor was assassinated it seemed that time was running out. However, Vienna still played host to important people and events in the inter-war years.

The Chortkover Rebbe, the founding of Daf Yomi and a Zionist Congress. And then there was the unusual visit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1903

 

Chapters

00:00 The R...

Why did Vienna produce so many revolutionary Jews?   How Jewish was Freud? Was Herzl always a Zionist? Did the Beis Yakov movement actually start in Vienna rather than Krakow?   Nathan Birnbaum created the term Zionism - why don’t we know more about him? What was Gustav Mahler’s epitaph on his tombstone?  

Chapters

03:12 Jewish Identity vs Jewish Society

06:04 Responses to Antisemitism: A Spectrum of Reactions

09:00 Five Cultural...

It has long been suspected that the BBC is anti-Israel and employs pro-Palestinian reporters and editors. But how do you prove suspicion? And how far does the betrayal go? 

 

Using objective forensic methodology and scientific analysis, a year long report was created by a team of researchers, spear-headed by Trevor Assesrson, that makes shocking reading and listening.

Post-interview we then spoke to Rabbi Zev Leff, Rabbi Osher Weis...

In the 1800s Vienna was one of the world's major cities, yet does not seem to have produced religious leadership? It nevertheless underwent a metamorphosis, which left it the victim of strong prejudice. Why did it experience such phenomenal growth in numbers and how - in just 4 decades - did Vienna become the centre of Jewish culture and science. What role did Rabbi Shmuel Yosef Bloch play?  

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jewish ...