Text-based classes on assorted Judaic topics, with a special emphasis on Jewish history.
New episodes every week.
Made Possible by Unzer-Chadash Shul, Brookly...
Taxes and Tensions: The Story of Jewish Tax Disputes in Medieval Spain
Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderes, the legendary rabbi and leader of Barcelona, received countless questions during his tenure, many of which have been preserved to this day. In this class, we discuss six compelling cases of tax disputes. They reveal remarkable insights into the political and economic realities of the time, the dynamics within Jewish communities, and their interactions with the surrounding non-Jewish world.
Taxes and Tensions: The Story of Jewish Tax Disputes in Medieval Spain
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1:06:26
Josephus
The book known as Yosifun, cherished in traditional Jewish circles, and the books of Josephus, preserved in Greek and Latin by non-Jewish hands, spark challenging questions about authorship, reliability, and reconstructing the Jewish past. This class explores how rabbis throughout the ages evaluated these works, their role on the Jewish bookshelf, and how to navigate the apparent discrepancies between their accounts and the teachings of chazal.
Josephus
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1:05:23
Lost Lights of Chanukah: Exploring the Books of Maccabees
The Books of Maccabees tell the dramatic story of the Chanukah revolt and the heroism of the Jewish fighters. But who wrote these books, and why were they left off the Jewish bookshelf? We’ll discuss the history of these texts, explore their reception among Jews throughout the ages, and probe the role they played—or didn’t play—in shaping Jewish memory of the Chanukah story.
Lost Lights of Chanukah: Exploring the Books of Maccabees
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1:00:41
The Titanic Question: The Halachic Dilemma of Men Lost at Sea
When a shipwreck in the 1500s left families wondering about the fate of their loved ones, rabbinic authorities debated whether the wives of the missing passengers could remarry. This centuries-old question resurfaced in 1912 with the famous sinking of the Titanic, reigniting the discussion of applying Halachah in tragic circumstances.
The Titanic Question: The Halachic Dilemma of Men Lost at Sea
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1:01:35
Benches, Bargains, and Bickering: Shul Seating in the Middle Ages
We kick things off with seven fascinating stories from the teshuvos of medieval Spain, where we discover shul seats being treated like real estate: bought, sold, inherited, mortgaged—and sometimes the center of heated disputes. Then, we shift our focus to Ashkenaz, where this phenomenon is noticeably absent, suggesting a very different set of attitudes and conventions about shul seats. Finally, we dive into how the poskim tackled some of these disputes, applying Halachah to their contemporary realities.
Benches, Bargains, and Bickering: Shul Seating in the Middle Ages
Text-based classes on assorted Judaic topics, with a special emphasis on Jewish history.
New episodes every week.
Made Possible by Unzer-Chadash Shul, Brooklyn NY.