All Episodes
Displaying 91 - 114 of 114 in total
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...
The Letter and Spirit of the Law vis-a-vis Imitation Products
Is it appropriate for a Jew to eat kosher imitation bacon, crab, or shrimp? Is this undermining the spirit of Kashrus? Central to the contemporary discussion is a fasc...
Kosher Pig? Analyzing a Mysterious Midrash (Part 1)
There’s a well-known tradition that it will be permissible for Jews to consume the meat of a pig when Moshiach comes. What is the source for this teaching and what is ...
Purim Through the Lens of Historic Jewish Art
The Jews throughout the ages who employed art to depict the Purim story left us a legacy rife with messaging. Synagogue walls, biblical manuscripts, and medieval machz...
Purim Class - The Manos Halevi by Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz: Overview and Highlights
One of the most important commentaries on Megilas Esther was authored by Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz (d. 1576), the famed author of Lecha Dodi. We explore eight memor...
Rabbinic Police Powers, Love and Hate, and Stern Censorship: Insights from Newly Discovered Passages of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch
The Czarist regime forbade rabbinical courts from employing coercive measures and adopted policies to promote assimilation. This led to the censoring of Jewish texts, ...
The Halachic Status of Christianity: Insights from Newly Discovered Passages of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch
For centuries, Halachic authorities have debated how to designate Christian theological beliefs. In recent weeks, a new manuscript of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch ...
