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Karaite Jews in Czarist Russia
Episode 425
Though never large in number, the Karaite communities of Russia are an interesting side chapter in Russian Jewish history. Residing primarily in the …
1 year, 8 months ago
Tourbites: The Life & World of the Shach - Rav Shabsai Hakohen
Episode 424
Rav Shabsai Hakohen (1621-1663) was the author of one of the most important halachic works ever written, the Shach (Sifsei Kohen). His last rabbinica…
1 year, 9 months ago
Tribute Episode: Rav Meir Wunder
Episode 423
The recent passing of Rav Meir Wunder (1934-2024) is an opportunity to pay tribute to this great man and his vast accomplishments as a historian, sch…
1 year, 9 months ago
Non-Ashkenazi Jews in Czarist Russia
Episode 422
Far from the Pale of Settlement, the Jews of Georgia, Bukhara, the Caucasus (Mountain) Jews, and other Jewish communities of Central Asia, found them…
1 year, 10 months ago
The Machine Matzah Controversy
Episode 421
The Industrial Revolution brought the mechanization of manual labor, and this reached the matzah baking industry in the mid-19th century. Although it…
1 year, 11 months ago
Beyond the Pale: Russian Jewry outside the Pale of Settlement
Episode 420
The Russian Czarist government restricted Russian Jewry to the western provinces of the empire through a series of legislative acts, which came to be…
1 year, 11 months ago
The Yeshiva Elite in 19th Century Lithuania
Episode 419
A dominant feature of religious life of the 20th century has been the centrality of the Yeshiva institution for intensive Torah study. The modern yes…
1 year, 11 months ago
Censorship in Czarist Russia
Episode 418
The Czarist government implemented a policy of censorship of all published material in the empire, whether it was imported or printed locally. Though…
2 years ago
Cantonists & The Czarist Military (+ Recap of a Trip to Ashkenaz/Germany) Featuring Dovi Safier
Episode 417
In 1827 Czar Nicholas I implemented the military draft on the Jewish community of Russia as a means of integrating Jews into Russian society. The Jew…
2 years ago
The Chassidic Movement in the Russian Empire
Episode 416
The cradle of the Chassidic movement was in the areas of the Polish Kingdom which were soon annexed to the Russian Empire during the partitions of Po…
2 years, 1 month ago