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Blood Libels
Episode 453
Among the many manifestations of medieval European antisemitism was the blood libel – the infamous false accusations of ritual murder which were used against Jewish communities for a millennium, resu…
Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago
A Lion from Bavel: The Ben Ish Chai
Episode 452
Rav Yosef Chaim (1835-1909), better known by his popular work Ben Ish Chai, was an important leader of the Baghdad Jewish community of the 19th century, whose influence reached across the Ottoman Emp…
Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago
The Secularization of the Jewish People in the Modern Era Part IV
Episode 451
External forces of the modern era such as political & economic changes, emancipation, the collapse of the kahal autonomy, technological advancement, wars, urbanization & immigration, led to the mass …
Published on 5 months ago
The Secularization of the Jewish People in the Modern Era Part III
Episode 450
The secularization of the Jewish People in the modern era really begins as a slow but growing trend within the communities of the Spanish Jewish diaspora of northern Europe in the 16th century. In th…
Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago
The Secularization of the Jewish People in the Modern Era Part II
Episode 449
The modern era brought many external changes which challenged the centuries old Jewish communal structure. Political change, emancipation, wars, revolution, economic development, technological advanc…
Published on 6 months, 1 week ago
The Secularization of the Jewish People in the Modern Era Part I
Episode 448
At the dawn of the 18th century, the overwhelming majority of the Jewish People were religiously observant in the traditional sense. By mid-20th century, the overwhelming majority of the Jewish Peopl…
Published on 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Rav Yomtov Lipmann Heller the Tosafos Yomtov
Episode 447
As someone who experienced the upheavals of both the Thirty Years War, as well as the Khmelnytsky uprisings of 1648-49 (Tach Vitat), Rav Yomtov Lipman Heller (1579-1654) lived and led his people duri…
Published on 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Between Poland & Yerushalayim: The Lelov Chassidic Dynasty
Episode 446
With its origins in 19th century Poland, Lelov is unique among Chassidic dynasties due to its migrating to Ottoman Jerusalem in 1851. Rav David Biderman established the dynasty in Lelov, Poland, and …
Published on 6 months, 4 weeks ago
![The Tiferes Yisrael [Nisan Bak] Shul](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog9066873/Logo_for_JHS_Small9j2aa.jpg){kind=logo}
The Tiferes Yisrael [Nisan Bak] Shul
Episode 445
The majestic and beautiful edifice of the Tiferes Yisrael Shul, also known as the Nisan Bak shul after its founder and leader, stood as the central shul of the Chassidic Old Yishuv of Yerushalayim, f…
Published on 7 months ago
The Maharsha
Episode 444
Someone whose Talmudic commentary has completely dominated Torah study for four centuries, Rav Shmuel Eliezer Aidel’s (circa 1555-1631), better known as the Maharsha, emerged as a leading rabbinical …
Published on 7 months, 1 week ago