All Episodes
Displaying 91 - 120 of 126 in total
The Day After: Reacting to Moshiach’s Not Coming in Chabad History
How have Jewish sages responded when a predicted Messianic time didn’t materialize? Here we focus on this phenomenon within Chabad history. The Day After: Reacting to...
Predicting the Redemption: What About the Talmudic Prohibition?
The Talmud tells us to refrain from predicting when Moshiach will come, and Rambam affirms this ruling in his code of law. But Rambam himself, and so many other rabbin...
The Dead Sea Scrolls (Part 3): The Philosophical Dispute
The abundance of name calling in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls exposes diverging worldviews about how halachic interpretation should operate. The Dead Sea Scrolls (Par...
Paris 1240: Disputation and Devastation
Rabbi Yechiel of Paris was forced to defend the Gemara before a Christian tribunal. Despite his courageous efforts, the Talmud was condemned to the flames. Paris 1240...
The Dead Sea Scrolls (Part 2): An Alternative Jewish Calendar
The Dead Sea Scrolls present a sectarian system for measuring time and celebrating the festivals, and it may help us understand an enigmatic line in our Mishnah. The D...
Gun Control: Talmudic Perspectives
The Supreme Court recently issued a landmark decision regarding the “right to bear arms.” What does Halachah offer on this topic? Gun Control: Talmudic Perspectives
Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? A Talmudic Approach
The first of a three-part series analyzing how the Dead Sea Scrolls can deepen our understanding of the Mishnah and Talmud. Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? A Talmudic ...
The Scandal of the Missing Line: Allegations of Textual Corruption against Chabad
The Tzemach Tzedek wrote about the proper brachah to make on a talis katan, but some have alleged that we tampered with his text. The Scandal of the Missing Line: Alle...
The Curious Case of the Desert Dead
The Talmud famously recounts how one of its sages discovered the “dead of the desert.” Drawing on a range of sources, the Rebbe explained this Talmudic tale with symbo...
Remembering and Forgetting: The History of Chof Sivan
This day has a sad history of persecution, but also an interesting tendency to be taken seriously at first, only to peter out after some time. Remembering and Forgetti...
The Rebbe’s Reshimas Hamenorah: An Overview
Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yehudah (Rebbi) debated how the furniture in the Beis Hamikdash was situated, and this reflected their philosophies about life. The Rebbe’s Resh...
Spelling Hashem’s Name in Hebrew Manuscripts
We are used to seeing two Yudin as a substitute for G-d’s ineffable name. But it wasn’t always that way. Spelling Hashem’s Name in Hebrew Manuscripts
Shavuos Art, and the Strange History of Akdamus
By examining the liturgy and art in a tiny medieval machzor, we learn how hearing the Aseres Hadibros was experienced seven hundred years ago, and how it's both simila...
Shavuos Through the Lens of Historic Jewish Art
Why animal heads replace human heads; why the luchos morph into a Torah scroll; and the origins of the areinfirenish and dairy on Shavuos. Shavuos Through the Lens of ...
Explaining the Holocaust? Multiple Approaches by the Frierdiker Rebbe and Rebbe
Many assume that "explaining" and "Holocaust" are never to be seen in the same sentence. How did we get here? And was it always this way? Explaining the Holocaust? Mul...
Mishneh Torah: A Biography
We can document how the Mishneh Torah was drafted, finalized, updated, disseminated, illuminated, critiqued, printed, and censored. Mishneh Torah: A Biography
The Cairo Genizah: Shedding Light on the Life and Works of the Rambam
The Cairo Geniza unveils much about Rambam’s communal activism, teaching, authorship, lost works, and overall life. The Cairo Genizah: Shedding Light on the Life and W...
A Jewish Guide to Horoscopes and Astrology (Part 3)
The final class of the series, in which we introduce Rambam’s position, Chasidic sources, and wrap up the topic with the key takeaways. A Jewish Guide to Horoscopes an...
Overturning Roe v. Wade: Good for the Jews?
A leaked draft suggests that the highest court of the land is primed to overturn one of the most controversial cases in American history. It’s time to revisit what Hal...
A Jewish Guide to Horoscopes and Astrology (Part 2)
Continuing to explore astrology from a Jewish perspective. What are the theological problems with accepting astrology and how did the rabbis address this? We will disc...
A Jewish Guide to the Evil Eye
The background and origins of red strings, kinora, and “poo-poo”; Rambam’s position on the matter; and two models for how Jews understood this mysterious phenomenon. A...
A Jewish Guide to Horoscopes and Astrology (Part 1)
Continuing our series of classes on Judaism and the paranormal, this class begins a three-part deep dive into the topic of astrology. As with all of these mysterious t...
A Jewish Guide to Demons and Spirits
Do demons exist? Did they ever exist? Is adultery with a demon considered adultery? (Yes, poskim addressed that question.) Jewish sources are not of one voice on this ...
Blatant Disregard of a Torah Law? On the Prohibition Against Settling in Egypt
Some of the greatest Torah sages lived in Egypt even as the Talmud ruled that this was forbidden. Over the years, numerous justifications have been provided. Which wil...
Dominating Wives, Suffering, and Reincarnation: The Debate About Gilgul and It’s Connection to Pesach
While the kabbalists embraced the concept of reincarnation, other rabbis were skeptical. What lies at the root of this dispute? And how did the kabbalists address the ...
The Blood Libel and Talmudic Censorship
Since ancient times, Jews have been falsely accused of killing non-Jews for ritual purposes. In medieval Europe, beginning in the twelfth century, this was often accom...
The Old, the New, the Forgotten: Halachah and Minhag In Haggadah Art
Medieval illuminated Haggadahs shed light on how the observance of the past was both similar to and different from the present. Taking this journey is an excellent way...
Finders Keepers? Halachic Implications From Tzaraas In the Home
Every so often we hear of someone who is blessed with a true windfall. In such instances, we often find multiple parties claiming a stake in the bonanza. How do we det...
Evolution of the Haggadah: A Pictorial History, from the Cairo Genizah, to the Medieval Art Workshop, to the Modern Printing Press
The Story of the Haggadah is synonymous with the story of the Jewish people. Observe how this most famous Jewish liturgical work has evolved in its appearance from one...
Kosher Pig? Analyzing a Mysterious Midrash (Part 2)
Continuing to explore whether there can ever be a time when mitzvos are suspended, and how this relates to the mysterious teaching that the pig will one day become kos...