[newsletter]
FEATURED LECTURE
Should Jews Immigrate to America
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
[newsletter]
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
February 2, 2016
In this lecture, we will try to understand Rambam's position and to present a position that disagrees with Rambam's description of Moshe.
October 24, 2007
This lecture will analyze this issue through the halakhic and sociological evaluation of the question whether an intermarried Jew can be counted toward a minyan.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
November 23, 2010
This lecture will explore this tradition and evaluate why not all views were accepted into the rabbinic discourse.
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
November 23, 2010
This lecture will explore this tradition and evaluate why not all views were accepted into the rabbinic discourse.
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
May 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
February 6, 2018
In this lecture will explore the history of Yiddish films in America and how the evolution of these films reflects the comfort level of American Jews in American culture and society.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
November 22, 2016
The story and the role of the Jews in the tale highlights the complicated and important role of the Jews in the history of New York City.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein's responsum on conversions.
April 21, 2010
The lecture will explore the political, personal and communal influence of this Hasidic leader who was the most influential Hasid of the first half of the nineteenth century.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
November 10, 2009
This lecture will study the history of the Reform innovations in the Siddur and compare the modern day Conservative and Reform siddurim with a brief reference to the new Modern Orthodox Koren Siddur.
November 7, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the early days of Hollywood
December 29, 2014
Shabbetai Tzvi was the most famous false messiah in Jewish history. He declared himself messiah in the mid-seventeenth century and almost half of world Jewry believed in him. How did his followers react when he converted to Islam? The answer tells us much about Shabbatai Tzvi and how Jews react to internal crisis.
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
January 30, 2007
Louis Ginzberg came to the United States in 1902 and spent 51 years at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a leading talmudic.
Louis Ginzberg came to the United States in 1902 and spent 51 years at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a leading talmudic.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
November 8, 2006
This lecture will explore two responsa. one written by Rashi and the other by the Rivash, the leading halakhic authority in Algiers in the fifteenth century who had escaped from Spain in 1391 after being forced to convert to Christianity.
May 14, 2005
The messianism of Rabbi Nachman is one of the most fascinating stories in Jewish history. A great grandson of the founder of Hasidism who was born in 1772, he grew to become a major force within the Hasidic movement.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
November 11, 2014
This lecture will explore if and how the plague was memorialized by European Jewry through an analysis of relevant ritual and historical material.
December 9, 2017
In this lecture, we will look at several films with scenes of Jewish themes.
November 5, 2008
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
February 13, 2007
In the early 1930's Rabbi Tobias Geffen, the Orthodox rabbi in Atlanta, received some inquiries from colleagues whether Coca Cola was kosher.
April 28, 2015
JTS was founded in 1886 as a reaction to the Pittsburgh Platform of the Reform movement. The Seminary struggled in its early years to distinguish itself from both HUC and the Lower East Side Orthodox Jews.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
November 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
October 30, 2018
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz explores the biography and impact of Rabbi Leo Jung, rabbi of The Jewish Center from 1922-1987.
November 8, 2006
This lecture will explore two responsa. one written by Rashi and the other by the Rivash, the leading halakhic authority in Algiers in the fifteenth century who had escaped from Spain in 1391 after being forced to convert to Christianity.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
February 3, 2013
This lecture will explore the origins of this philosophy and the reactions to his activity. How was this debate a reaction to the challenges of modernity during this period?
November 13, 2011
This lecture will explore the transition from the Gaonic tradition of the Moslem period to the rabbinic tradition of the Ramban in Christian Spain.
May 22, 2014
This lecture will explore the goal of the Artscrolll translation of Megillat Esther and anthology and compare it to the earlier English translations.
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
November 18, 2012
This lecture will explore the interplay between the rabbis and the community regarding deriving profit from non-kosher wine which the rabbis had declared to be forbidden.
May 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the importance of each of these communities and the both the friction and cooperation that existed among the Jews of Berlin during this period.
November 22, 2016
The story and the role of the Jews in the tale highlights the complicated and important role of the Jews in the history of New York City.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the history of messianic speculation and the opposition to this movement and explain the rationale for each approach.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
August 15, 2009
This shiur will explore the sources on this topic which present a surprisingly expansive view of the rights of the posek in determining halakhis decisions
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
April 21, 2010
The lecture will explore the political, personal and communal influence of this Hasidic leader who was the most influential Hasid of the first half of the nineteenth century.
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
February 6, 2018
In this lecture will explore the history of Yiddish films in America and how the evolution of these films reflects the comfort level of American Jews in American culture and society.
October 27, 2009
This lecture will examine several sources that describe synagogues in Israel and in the diaspora and analyze the role of these synagogues in the Jewish world of the time.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
December 5, 2019
In this lecture, we will study two responsa of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
October 20, 2015
The lecture will continue to explore the idea of belief in God. Why do Jews believe? We conclude with a study of Halevi and ibn Paquda on the reasons for belief in God.
November 29, 2016
What role did Frank's Judaism have in his conviction and lynching? Was he convicted because he was a Jew? In this lecture, we will examine the relevant documents to gain greater insight and understanding into this critical question.
February 12, 2013
This lecture will explore the manner in which European Jews viewed American Jewry in the years preceeding and during the Civil War.
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
May 16, 2012
This lecture will explore the challenges and criticisms of the Hesder movement especially within certain segments of the Religious Zionist community.
January 29, 2014
In this lecture we will examine his sermons and try to decipher a pattern to his use of the Biblical texts and the message that he was trying to impart to the community.
February 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
February 18, 2015
Following the Six Day War, there was a rabbinic debate whether it was appropriate the alter the text of Nahem, recited on Tisha Bav...
November 14, 2007
This lecture will explore the evolution of these laws and their application in modern times where assimilation and intermarriage remain a serious concern.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
December 5, 2019
In this lecture, we will study two responsa of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
November 16, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the interactions of the Jews in a southern Polish town in the first half of the 1600s.
November 11, 2014
This lecture will explore if and how the plague was memorialized by European Jewry through an analysis of relevant ritual and historical material.
January 29, 2014
In this lecture we will examine his sermons and try to decipher a pattern to his use of the Biblical texts and the message that he was trying to impart to the community.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
November 29, 2016
What role did Frank's Judaism have in his conviction and lynching? Was he convicted because he was a Jew? In this lecture, we will examine the relevant documents to gain greater insight and understanding into this critical question.
December 29, 2014
Shabbetai Tzvi was the most famous false messiah in Jewish history. He declared himself messiah in the mid-seventeenth century and almost half of world Jewry believed in him. How did his followers react when he converted to Islam? The answer tells us much about Shabbatai Tzvi and how Jews react to internal crisis.
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
August 1, 2009
This shiur will explore the source material that discusses the issue of asking multiple rabbis the same question in order to receive a "satisfactory" response.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
February 15, 2012
This lecture will explore the approaches of Arukh Ha-Shulhan and Mishneh Brurah to halakhic codification during this period.
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
February 6, 2018
In this lecture will explore the history of Yiddish films in America and how the evolution of these films reflects the comfort level of American Jews in American culture and society.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
April 22, 2013
The lecture will examine the narrative elements of each story and the characters described in each one as a model for the possible responses to the an oppressive ruling authority.
February 3, 2015
This lecture will present three different rabbinic responses to this challenge; the approach of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the response of the members of the Hildesheimer Seminary inn Berlin and the reaction of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook.
April 28, 2015
JTS was founded in 1886 as a reaction to the Pittsburgh Platform of the Reform movement. The Seminary struggled in its early years to distinguish itself from both HUC and the Lower East Side Orthodox Jews.
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
November 7, 2007
this lecture, we will explore two instances of this distinction. the rules of the lost object of a non-Jew and the law of a non-Jew's mistake in business.
November 14, 2007
This lecture will explore the evolution of these laws and their application in modern times where assimilation and intermarriage remain a serious concern.
November 15, 2006
In this class, we will study and evaluate Rabbi Schicks' teshuvot on this topic and analyze his seemingly contradictory views on this subject.
February 11, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
February 3, 2013
This lecture will explore the origins of this philosophy and the reactions to his activity. How was this debate a reaction to the challenges of modernity during this period?
February 11, 2014
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, there were both German and Jewish scholars who began to claim that the second half of the Book of Isaiah...
May 15, 2007
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
October 30, 2018
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz explores the biography and impact of Rabbi Leo Jung, rabbi of The Jewish Center from 1922-1987.
December 29, 2014
Shabbetai Tzvi was the most famous false messiah in Jewish history. He declared himself messiah in the mid-seventeenth century and almost half of world Jewry believed in him. How did his followers react when he converted to Islam? The answer tells us much about Shabbatai Tzvi and how Jews react to internal crisis.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
May 28, 2014
This lecture will explore the unique aspects of this translation and compare it wit the Orthodox Artscroll translation. Is this Etz Hayim translation really revolutionary or controversial within the traditional community?
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
September 12, 2010
This shiur will explore two sources, one from the Midrash and one from the Talmud, for the recitation of this line as an integral part of the daily Shema.
May 14, 2005
The messianism of Rabbi Nachman is one of the most fascinating stories in Jewish history. A great grandson of the founder of Hasidism who was born in 1772, he grew to become a major force within the Hasidic movement.
November 18, 2012
This lecture will explore the interplay between the rabbis and the community regarding deriving profit from non-kosher wine which the rabbis had declared to be forbidden.
February 11, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
February 3, 2013
This lecture will explore the origins of this philosophy and the reactions to his activity. How was this debate a reaction to the challenges of modernity during this period?
November 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
November 7, 2007
this lecture, we will explore two instances of this distinction. the rules of the lost object of a non-Jew and the law of a non-Jew's mistake in business.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
August 22, 2010
This lecture will examine the evolution of the history of the Torah text beginning with the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
January 28, 2010
This lecture will analyze the evolution of these blessings from their private recitation in the home to their prime role as the beginning of the daily service.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
November 7, 2007
this lecture, we will explore two instances of this distinction. the rules of the lost object of a non-Jew and the law of a non-Jew's mistake in business.
February 2, 2016
In this lecture, we will try to understand Rambam's position and to present a position that disagrees with Rambam's description of Moshe.
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
January 30, 2007
Louis Ginzberg came to the United States in 1902 and spent 51 years at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a leading talmudic.
October 25, 2010
This lecture will study the use of halacha in the Book of Jubilees and explore the importance of this work in the history of halacha.
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore how the Jews responded to this crisis and how both the Reform and Orthodox movements redefined their views of the personal messiah.
May 28, 2014
This lecture will explore the unique aspects of this translation and compare it wit the Orthodox Artscroll translation. Is this Etz Hayim translation really revolutionary or controversial within the traditional community?
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
February 17, 2010
This lecture will study the ramifications of this dispute through an analysis of the texts of the maariv service and a historical survey whether Jews actually davened maariv.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
October 25, 2010
This lecture will study the use of halacha in the Book of Jubilees and explore the importance of this work in the history of halacha.
November 21, 2018
I had the honor to interview Saul Zabar. This interview was the topic of my lecture on “The Zabars.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
July 4, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of the earliest rules of decision making and the extra-halakhic considerations that help to determine the halakhah.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the biography of Benjamin Cardozo and his impact both in the judicial and Jewish world.
September 12, 2010
This shiur will explore two sources, one from the Midrash and one from the Talmud, for the recitation of this line as an integral part of the daily Shema.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
February 2, 2016
In this lecture, we will try to understand Rambam's position and to present a position that disagrees with Rambam's description of Moshe.
December 5, 2011
This lecture will explore the journey of each of these great rabbinic scholars through their lengthy commentaries on the Tur to their concise codes in the Shulhan Arukh.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
February 26, 2014
This lecture will attempt to explain the complex set of factors that led Hoffmann to his understanding of the origins of both Biblical and talmudic law.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
January 30, 2008
This lecture will explore this material and analyze how this bracha has been interpreted throughout the centuries.
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
January 30, 2018
In this lecture, we will trace three different periods in the history of Holocaust films
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
May 28, 2014
This lecture will explore the unique aspects of this translation and compare it wit the Orthodox Artscroll translation. Is this Etz Hayim translation really revolutionary or controversial within the traditional community?
December 13, 2006
In this class, we will study several examples of Modern Orthodox teshuvot and attempt to both present the methodology of these teshuvot and explain why Modern Orthodoxy has ceded this aspect of the process to others.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
February 17, 2009
This lecture will focus on analyzing the Rambam's novel and potentially problematic interpretation of this principle of faith through the study of selections from his Commentary on the Mishnah, Moreh Nebuchim and Mishneh Torah.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
May 9, 2011
This lecture will utilize primary sources to present a taste of the Volozyn Yeshiva in its early days and to appreciate the unique approach to Torah study and to yeshiva administration that was introduced by Rabbi Haim of Volozhyn.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
November 22, 2016
The story and the role of the Jews in the tale highlights the complicated and important role of the Jews in the history of New York City.
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
November 5, 2013
In this lecture, we will study Ramban's view on Midrash as reflected in his remarks at the Disputation of 1263 and in his Commentary on the Chumash.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
August 1, 2009
This shiur will explore the source material that discusses the issue of asking multiple rabbis the same question in order to receive a "satisfactory" response.
August 15, 2009
This shiur will explore the sources on this topic which present a surprisingly expansive view of the rights of the posek in determining halakhis decisions
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
December 5, 2011
This lecture will explore the journey of each of these great rabbinic scholars through their lengthy commentaries on the Tur to their concise codes in the Shulhan Arukh.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
May 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the importance of each of these communities and the both the friction and cooperation that existed among the Jews of Berlin during this period.
November 11, 2014
This lecture will explore if and how the plague was memorialized by European Jewry through an analysis of relevant ritual and historical material.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
January 30, 2007
Louis Ginzberg came to the United States in 1902 and spent 51 years at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a leading talmudic.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
February 18, 2015
Following the Six Day War, there was a rabbinic debate whether it was appropriate the alter the text of Nahem, recited on Tisha Bav...
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
April 22, 2013
The lecture will examine the narrative elements of each story and the characters described in each one as a model for the possible responses to the an oppressive ruling authority.
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
February 24, 2010
This lecture will examine the history of the Kabbalists in Safed and it will study the structure and themes of Lecha Dodi.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
February 18, 2015
Following the Six Day War, there was a rabbinic debate whether it was appropriate the alter the text of Nahem, recited on Tisha Bav...
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
May 28, 2014
This lecture will explore the unique aspects of this translation and compare it wit the Orthodox Artscroll translation. Is this Etz Hayim translation really revolutionary or controversial within the traditional community?
October 24, 2007
This lecture will analyze this issue through the halakhic and sociological evaluation of the question whether an intermarried Jew can be counted toward a minyan.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
February 13, 2007
In the early 1930's Rabbi Tobias Geffen, the Orthodox rabbi in Atlanta, received some inquiries from colleagues whether Coca Cola was kosher.
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
December 13, 2006
In this class, we will study several examples of Modern Orthodox teshuvot and attempt to both present the methodology of these teshuvot and explain why Modern Orthodoxy has ceded this aspect of the process to others.
February 11, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
January 7, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine a talmudic text that describes a prayer to angels that was recited upon entering the bathroom.
February 2, 2016
In this lecture, we will try to understand Rambam's position and to present a position that disagrees with Rambam's description of Moshe.
May 19, 2008
This lecture will explore the issue of these conflicting allegiances and their implication for the history of the Jews in Modern Europe.
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
December 5, 2019
In this lecture, we will study two responsa of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
January 26, 2016
In this lecture, we will trace the history of the concept of prophecy. Who is worthy to prophecy? What is the prophetic experience?
December 5, 2019
In this lecture, we will study two responsa of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
August 22, 2010
This lecture will examine the evolution of the history of the Torah text beginning with the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
February 3, 2009
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
November 22, 2016
The story and the role of the Jews in the tale highlights the complicated and important role of the Jews in the history of New York City.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
May 22, 2014
This lecture will explore the goal of the Artscrolll translation of Megillat Esther and anthology and compare it to the earlier English translations.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
November 18, 2012
This lecture will explore the interplay between the rabbis and the community regarding deriving profit from non-kosher wine which the rabbis had declared to be forbidden.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
May 9, 2011
This lecture will utilize primary sources to present a taste of the Volozyn Yeshiva in its early days and to appreciate the unique approach to Torah study and to yeshiva administration that was introduced by Rabbi Haim of Volozhyn.
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
January 29, 2014
In this lecture we will examine his sermons and try to decipher a pattern to his use of the Biblical texts and the message that he was trying to impart to the community.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
July 4, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of the earliest rules of decision making and the extra-halakhic considerations that help to determine the halakhah.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
May 23, 2017
How could this Jewish couple got into so much trouble? We will explore the background of the case and the attempts to have the verdict overturned.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
November 15, 2010
This lecture will explore three halakhic disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and analyze these disputes from a socio-religious context and in terms of their importance in the development of Jewish law.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the biography of Benjamin Cardozo and his impact both in the judicial and Jewish world.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
April 21, 2010
The lecture will explore the political, personal and communal influence of this Hasidic leader who was the most influential Hasid of the first half of the nineteenth century.
November 17, 2009
This lecture will study four nineteenth and twentieth century commentators and philosophers and examine how they address the meaning of prayer in an age of rationalism that is often centered on the individual rather than God.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
April 22, 2013
The lecture will examine the narrative elements of each story and the characters described in each one as a model for the possible responses to the an oppressive ruling authority.
May 8, 2007
This lecture will compare the history of the Jews of Riga and its German influence with the history of the Jews of Dvinsk which was included in the Pale.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
November 6, 2018
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the biography of Leonard Bernstein, the role of Judaism in his life and the connection of West Side Story to the history of Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper West Side.
February 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
April 21, 2010
The lecture will explore the political, personal and communal influence of this Hasidic leader who was the most influential Hasid of the first half of the nineteenth century.
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
November 29, 2016
What role did Frank's Judaism have in his conviction and lynching? Was he convicted because he was a Jew? In this lecture, we will examine the relevant documents to gain greater insight and understanding into this critical question.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
November 29, 2016
What role did Frank's Judaism have in his conviction and lynching? Was he convicted because he was a Jew? In this lecture, we will examine the relevant documents to gain greater insight and understanding into this critical question.
November 21, 2018
I had the honor to interview Saul Zabar. This interview was the topic of my lecture on “The Zabars.
May 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of this principle.
February 3, 2009
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
May 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
February 3, 2013
This lecture will explore the origins of this philosophy and the reactions to his activity. How was this debate a reaction to the challenges of modernity during this period?
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the biography of Benjamin Cardozo and his impact both in the judicial and Jewish world.
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
January 23, 2018
In this lecture, we will explore the ways in which the Nazis tried to influence American movies during the 1930s in order to make sure that they did not portray Nazi Germany in a negative light.
February 5, 2019
October 20, 2015
The lecture will continue to explore the idea of belief in God. Why do Jews believe? We conclude with a study of Halevi and ibn Paquda on the reasons for belief in God.
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
February 15, 2012
This lecture will explore the approaches of Arukh Ha-Shulhan and Mishneh Brurah to halakhic codification during this period.
November 29, 2016
What role did Frank's Judaism have in his conviction and lynching? Was he convicted because he was a Jew? In this lecture, we will examine the relevant documents to gain greater insight and understanding into this critical question.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
November 21, 2018
I had the honor to interview Saul Zabar. This interview was the topic of my lecture on “The Zabars.
November 15, 2010
This lecture will explore three halakhic disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and analyze these disputes from a socio-religious context and in terms of their importance in the development of Jewish law.
January 28, 2010
This lecture will analyze the evolution of these blessings from their private recitation in the home to their prime role as the beginning of the daily service.
November 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
November 18, 2012
This lecture will explore the interplay between the rabbis and the community regarding deriving profit from non-kosher wine which the rabbis had declared to be forbidden.
November 22, 2018
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz explores the biography of Robert Moses and examines the history of the West Side Highways and the Cross Bronx Expressway. Was Robert Moses a great builder, a destroyer or a little of both?
November 26, 2012
In 1772, the Duke of Mecklenburg issued an edict requiring the Jews to wait three days after death prior to burial in order to prevent the premature burial of a live person.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
February 11, 2014
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, there were both German and Jewish scholars who began to claim that the second half of the Book of Isaiah...
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
October 20, 2015
The lecture will continue to explore the idea of belief in God. Why do Jews believe? We conclude with a study of Halevi and ibn Paquda on the reasons for belief in God.
November 28, 2017
This lecture will examine four Jewish actors; John Garfield, Groucho Marx, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
February 13, 2018
In this lecture we will explore the history and evolution of Jewish humor in America.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
May 22, 2014
This lecture will explore the goal of the Artscrolll translation of Megillat Esther and anthology and compare it to the earlier English translations.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein's responsum on conversions.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
November 5, 2008
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
September 12, 2010
This shiur will explore two sources, one from the Midrash and one from the Talmud, for the recitation of this line as an integral part of the daily Shema.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
April 21, 2010
The lecture will explore the political, personal and communal influence of this Hasidic leader who was the most influential Hasid of the first half of the nineteenth century.
May 16, 2012
This lecture will explore the challenges and criticisms of the Hesder movement especially within certain segments of the Religious Zionist community.
February 12, 2015
Yom Ha-Shoah was established by the Israeli Knesset in 1951 to be observed every year on the 27th day of Nissan.
February 3, 2015
This lecture will present three different rabbinic responses to this challenge; the approach of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the response of the members of the Hildesheimer Seminary inn Berlin and the reaction of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook.
October 24, 2007
This lecture will analyze this issue through the halakhic and sociological evaluation of the question whether an intermarried Jew can be counted toward a minyan.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
November 10, 2009
This lecture will study the history of the Reform innovations in the Siddur and compare the modern day Conservative and Reform siddurim with a brief reference to the new Modern Orthodox Koren Siddur.
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
October 27, 2009
This lecture will examine several sources that describe synagogues in Israel and in the diaspora and analyze the role of these synagogues in the Jewish world of the time.
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
February 23, 2011
This lecture will explore whether the rabbinic tradition was practiced in the western diaspora or whether they practiced a non-rabbinic form of Judaism during this period studying relevant Jewish and non-Jewish sources.
September 8, 2013
The title of the drasha was "White as Snow: Why is White the Color of Yom Kippur?" I hope you will enjoy the shiur and that it will provide some insight as we prepare for Yom Kippur.
November 28, 2017
This lecture will examine four Jewish actors; John Garfield, Groucho Marx, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
November 15, 2010
This lecture will explore three halakhic disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and analyze these disputes from a socio-religious context and in terms of their importance in the development of Jewish law.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
August 1, 2009
This shiur will explore the source material that discusses the issue of asking multiple rabbis the same question in order to receive a "satisfactory" response.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
January 25, 2011
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
November 17, 2009
This lecture will study four nineteenth and twentieth century commentators and philosophers and examine how they address the meaning of prayer in an age of rationalism that is often centered on the individual rather than God.
December 29, 2014
Shabbetai Tzvi was the most famous false messiah in Jewish history. He declared himself messiah in the mid-seventeenth century and almost half of world Jewry believed in him. How did his followers react when he converted to Islam? The answer tells us much about Shabbatai Tzvi and how Jews react to internal crisis.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein’s reaction to the Orthodox feminist movement in the 1970s.
April 12, 2014
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a recording of my Shabbat Ha-Gadol Drasha entitled "The Choreography of the Haggadah: The Role of the Greek Chorus."
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
November 26, 2012
In 1772, the Duke of Mecklenburg issued an edict requiring the Jews to wait three days after death prior to burial in order to prevent the premature burial of a live person.
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
February 23, 2011
This lecture will explore whether the rabbinic tradition was practiced in the western diaspora or whether they practiced a non-rabbinic form of Judaism during this period studying relevant Jewish and non-Jewish sources.
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
February 26, 2014
This lecture will attempt to explain the complex set of factors that led Hoffmann to his understanding of the origins of both Biblical and talmudic law.
January 30, 2018
In this lecture, we will trace three different periods in the history of Holocaust films
September 12, 2010
This shiur will explore two sources, one from the Midrash and one from the Talmud, for the recitation of this line as an integral part of the daily Shema.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
October 27, 2009
This lecture will examine several sources that describe synagogues in Israel and in the diaspora and analyze the role of these synagogues in the Jewish world of the time.
May 8, 2007
This lecture will compare the history of the Jews of Riga and its German influence with the history of the Jews of Dvinsk which was included in the Pale.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
February 3, 2013
This lecture will explore the origins of this philosophy and the reactions to his activity. How was this debate a reaction to the challenges of modernity during this period?
May 23, 2017
How could this Jewish couple got into so much trouble? We will explore the background of the case and the attempts to have the verdict overturned.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
December 5, 2011
This lecture will explore the journey of each of these great rabbinic scholars through their lengthy commentaries on the Tur to their concise codes in the Shulhan Arukh.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
January 25, 2011
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
November 8, 2006
This lecture will explore two responsa. one written by Rashi and the other by the Rivash, the leading halakhic authority in Algiers in the fifteenth century who had escaped from Spain in 1391 after being forced to convert to Christianity.
February 3, 2009
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
February 12, 2013
This lecture will explore the manner in which European Jews viewed American Jewry in the years preceeding and during the Civil War.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
November 11, 2014
This lecture will explore if and how the plague was memorialized by European Jewry through an analysis of relevant ritual and historical material.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the life and accomplishments of Henrietta Szold
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
May 14, 2005
The messianism of Rabbi Nachman is one of the most fascinating stories in Jewish history. A great grandson of the founder of Hasidism who was born in 1772, he grew to become a major force within the Hasidic movement.
November 11, 2014
This lecture will explore if and how the plague was memorialized by European Jewry through an analysis of relevant ritual and historical material.
October 25, 2010
This lecture will study the use of halacha in the Book of Jubilees and explore the importance of this work in the history of halacha.
April 22, 2013
The lecture will examine the narrative elements of each story and the characters described in each one as a model for the possible responses to the an oppressive ruling authority.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
November 17, 2009
This lecture will study four nineteenth and twentieth century commentators and philosophers and examine how they address the meaning of prayer in an age of rationalism that is often centered on the individual rather than God.
January 29, 2014
In this lecture we will examine his sermons and try to decipher a pattern to his use of the Biblical texts and the message that he was trying to impart to the community.
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
November 18, 2012
This lecture will explore the interplay between the rabbis and the community regarding deriving profit from non-kosher wine which the rabbis had declared to be forbidden.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
February 6, 2014
This lecture will explore S.D. Luzzatto's method of exegesis including his willingness to engage scholarly discussion of textual emendations and human involvement in Biblical miracles.
July 4, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of the earliest rules of decision making and the extra-halakhic considerations that help to determine the halakhah.
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
April 12, 2014
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a recording of my Shabbat Ha-Gadol Drasha entitled "The Choreography of the Haggadah: The Role of the Greek Chorus."
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
November 16, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the interactions of the Jews in a southern Polish town in the first half of the 1600s.
May 16, 2012
This lecture will explore the challenges and criticisms of the Hesder movement especially within certain segments of the Religious Zionist community.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
November 5, 2013
In this lecture, we will study Ramban's view on Midrash as reflected in his remarks at the Disputation of 1263 and in his Commentary on the Chumash.
February 26, 2014
This lecture will attempt to explain the complex set of factors that led Hoffmann to his understanding of the origins of both Biblical and talmudic law.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
August 15, 2009
This shiur will explore the sources on this topic which present a surprisingly expansive view of the rights of the posek in determining halakhis decisions
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
January 23, 2018
In this lecture, we will explore the ways in which the Nazis tried to influence American movies during the 1930s in order to make sure that they did not portray Nazi Germany in a negative light.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
October 24, 2007
This lecture will analyze this issue through the halakhic and sociological evaluation of the question whether an intermarried Jew can be counted toward a minyan.
August 22, 2010
This lecture will examine the evolution of the history of the Torah text beginning with the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
This lecture will examine the evolution of the history of the Torah text beginning with the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
November 17, 2009
This lecture will study four nineteenth and twentieth century commentators and philosophers and examine how they address the meaning of prayer in an age of rationalism that is often centered on the individual rather than God.
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
February 12, 2013
This lecture will explore the manner in which European Jews viewed American Jewry in the years preceeding and during the Civil War.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
October 23, 2013
We will explore at least one instance in which Rashbam’s explanation is quoted by Hugh of St. Victor. How does Rashbam’s approach shed light on Rashi’s view of Christian Biblical commentary?
February 12, 2013
This lecture will explore the manner in which European Jews viewed American Jewry in the years preceeding and during the Civil War.
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
November 28, 2017
This lecture will examine four Jewish actors; John Garfield, Groucho Marx, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
February 3, 2013
This lecture will explore the origins of this philosophy and the reactions to his activity. How was this debate a reaction to the challenges of modernity during this period?
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
November 15, 2010
This lecture will explore three halakhic disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and analyze these disputes from a socio-religious context and in terms of their importance in the development of Jewish law.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
February 2, 2016
In this lecture, we will try to understand Rambam's position and to present a position that disagrees with Rambam's description of Moshe.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
January 23, 2018
In this lecture, we will explore the ways in which the Nazis tried to influence American movies during the 1930s in order to make sure that they did not portray Nazi Germany in a negative light.
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
May 27, 2011
This lecture will focus on the biography of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the rosh yeshiva in Kletzk, Lithuania who escaped to the United States in 1941 and established the yeshiva in Lakewood, NJ.
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
April 12, 2014
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a recording of my Shabbat Ha-Gadol Drasha entitled "The Choreography of the Haggadah: The Role of the Greek Chorus."
September 8, 2013
The title of the drasha was "White as Snow: Why is White the Color of Yom Kippur?" I hope you will enjoy the shiur and that it will provide some insight as we prepare for Yom Kippur.
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
November 11, 2015
Rambam writes that God created the world creation ex nihilo, from nothing. This lecture will explore whether this view was universally accepted by Greek philosophers and by Jewish thinkers.
November 21, 2018
I had the honor to interview Saul Zabar. This interview was the topic of my lecture on “The Zabars.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
May 28, 2014
This lecture will explore the unique aspects of this translation and compare it wit the Orthodox Artscroll translation. Is this Etz Hayim translation really revolutionary or controversial within the traditional community?
November 14, 2007
This lecture will explore the evolution of these laws and their application in modern times where assimilation and intermarriage remain a serious concern.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
October 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
November 28, 2017
This lecture will examine four Jewish actors; John Garfield, Groucho Marx, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
February 26, 2014
This lecture will attempt to explain the complex set of factors that led Hoffmann to his understanding of the origins of both Biblical and talmudic law.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
October 25, 2010
This lecture will study the use of halacha in the Book of Jubilees and explore the importance of this work in the history of halacha.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
April 21, 2010
The lecture will explore the political, personal and communal influence of this Hasidic leader who was the most influential Hasid of the first half of the nineteenth century.
May 27, 2011
This lecture will focus on the biography of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the rosh yeshiva in Kletzk, Lithuania who escaped to the United States in 1941 and established the yeshiva in Lakewood, NJ.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
May 22, 2014
This lecture will explore the goal of the Artscrolll translation of Megillat Esther and anthology and compare it to the earlier English translations.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
May 23, 2017
How could this Jewish couple got into so much trouble? We will explore the background of the case and the attempts to have the verdict overturned.
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
May 6, 2015
The role of secular studies became a contentious issue and the resolution of this issue lies at the heart of the creation of Yeshiva College and then Yeshiva University.
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
November 7, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the early days of Hollywood
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
November 23, 2010
This lecture will explore this tradition and evaluate why not all views were accepted into the rabbinic discourse.
February 23, 2011
This lecture will explore whether the rabbinic tradition was practiced in the western diaspora or whether they practiced a non-rabbinic form of Judaism during this period studying relevant Jewish and non-Jewish sources.
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
November 16, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the interactions of the Jews in a southern Polish town in the first half of the 1600s.
May 14, 2005
The messianism of Rabbi Nachman is one of the most fascinating stories in Jewish history. A great grandson of the founder of Hasidism who was born in 1772, he grew to become a major force within the Hasidic movement.
May 12, 2009
This lecture will highlight the roles of Louis Brandies and Rabbi Joseph B.
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
January 30, 2008
This lecture will explore this material and analyze how this bracha has been interpreted throughout the centuries.
November 7, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the early days of Hollywood
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
November 14, 2007
This lecture will explore the evolution of these laws and their application in modern times where assimilation and intermarriage remain a serious concern.
November 18, 2012
This lecture will explore the interplay between the rabbis and the community regarding deriving profit from non-kosher wine which the rabbis had declared to be forbidden.
April 24, 2007
This lecture will explore the history of the Jews of Galicia and how the historical study of these communities has changed in recent years.
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
February 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
December 13, 2006
In this class, we will study several examples of Modern Orthodox teshuvot and attempt to both present the methodology of these teshuvot and explain why Modern Orthodoxy has ceded this aspect of the process to others.
February 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
November 18, 2012
This lecture will explore the interplay between the rabbis and the community regarding deriving profit from non-kosher wine which the rabbis had declared to be forbidden.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
November 21, 2018
I had the honor to interview Saul Zabar. This interview was the topic of my lecture on “The Zabars.
January 7, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine a talmudic text that describes a prayer to angels that was recited upon entering the bathroom.
November 7, 2007
this lecture, we will explore two instances of this distinction. the rules of the lost object of a non-Jew and the law of a non-Jew's mistake in business.
February 6, 2018
In this lecture will explore the history of Yiddish films in America and how the evolution of these films reflects the comfort level of American Jews in American culture and society.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
January 30, 2007
Louis Ginzberg came to the United States in 1902 and spent 51 years at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a leading talmudic.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
February 3, 2009
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
November 21, 2018
I had the honor to interview Saul Zabar. This interview was the topic of my lecture on “The Zabars.
November 14, 2007
This lecture will explore the evolution of these laws and their application in modern times where assimilation and intermarriage remain a serious concern.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate address