[newsletter]
FEATURED LECTURE
The Origins of Hasidism
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
[newsletter]
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
June 23, 2020
Snapshots of American Jewish History - Part 3
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
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 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.
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.
August 7, 2022
Tisha B'Av Through the Ages: How Did the Crusades Become Associated with Tisha B'Av?
May 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of this principle.
November 21, 2018
I had the honor to interview Saul Zabar. This interview was the topic of my lecture on “The Zabars.
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.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
April 5, 2020
Grape Juice at the Seder: Jewish Tradition Reacts to Prohibition
February 15, 2012
This lecture will explore the approaches of Arukh Ha-Shulhan and Mishneh Brurah to halakhic codification during this period.
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.
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
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.
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
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?
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 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein's responsum on conversions.
February 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
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, 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...
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.
January 31, 2012
This lecture will explore the process by which the Rema's commentary on the Shulhan Arukh was accepted throughout Poland.
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 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, 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.
April 5, 2020
Grape Juice at the Seder: Jewish Tradition Reacts to Prohibition
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
February 13, 2018
In this lecture we will explore the history and evolution of Jewish humor in America.
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 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
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.
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.
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
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.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
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 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.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
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.
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.
January 30, 2018
In this lecture, we will trace three different periods in the history of Holocaust films
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.
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...
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 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.
December 5, 2019
In this lecture, we will study two responsa of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
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 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
February 13, 2018
In this lecture we will explore the history and evolution of Jewish humor in America.
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.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
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.
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.
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
February 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
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 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
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.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
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?
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
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.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
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 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.
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.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
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 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
September 14, 2022
The Yamim Nora'im and its Liturgy (Part 2)
February 6, 2007
Solomon Freehof created the genre or responsa literature within the Reform movement.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
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 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
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.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein’s reaction to the Orthodox feminist movement in the 1970s.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
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.
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.
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.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein’s reaction to the Orthodox feminist movement in the 1970s.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
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.
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, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
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.
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.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the biography of Benjamin Cardozo and his impact both in the judicial and Jewish world.
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 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.
September 14, 2022
The Yamim Nora'im and its Liturgy (Part 2)
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.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during 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.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
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...
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.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
August 7, 2022
Tisha B'Av Through the Ages: How Did the Crusades Become Associated with Tisha B'Av?
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
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 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.
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.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
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.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
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 21, 2020
Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer Ben Hyrcanus: Forming the Rabbinic Tradition
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
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.
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.
June 8, 2020
Snapshots of American Jewish History - Part 1
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.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
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 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
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...
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
May 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
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 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
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.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
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.
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
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.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
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 30, 2018
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz explores the biography and impact of Rabbi Leo Jung, rabbi of The Jewish Center from 1922-1987.
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.
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 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 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.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
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 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?
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
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 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 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
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.
September 21, 2022
The Yamim Nora'im and its Liturgy (Part 3)
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 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
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."
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.
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 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
February 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
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.
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?
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.
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 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.
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 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 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.
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.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me 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.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
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.
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.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
November 28, 2017
This lecture will examine four Jewish actors; John Garfield, Groucho Marx, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
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 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
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 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.
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 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the life and accomplishments of Henrietta Szold
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.
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 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 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
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?
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.
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?
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 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the life and accomplishments of Henrietta Szold
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
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 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 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.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the biography of Benjamin Cardozo and his impact both in the judicial and Jewish world.
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 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.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half 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?
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
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 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the history of messianic speculation and the opposition to this movement and explain the rationale for each approach.
March 29, 2015
It gives me great pleasure to once again share with you my Shabbat Ha-Gadol drasha that was delivered at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim.
April 5, 2020
Grape Juice at the Seder: Jewish Tradition Reacts to Prohibition
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
November 23, 2010
This lecture will explore this tradition and evaluate why not all views were accepted into the rabbinic discourse.
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.
January 30, 2018
In this lecture, we will trace three different periods in the history of Holocaust films
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
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 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
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 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
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 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.
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...
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.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
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.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
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 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
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.
September 21, 2022
The Yamim Nora'im and its Liturgy (Part 3)
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the life and accomplishments of Henrietta Szold
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
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.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
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.
January 31, 2012
This lecture will explore the process by which the Rema's commentary on the Shulhan Arukh was accepted throughout Poland.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
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.
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 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
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.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
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?
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 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
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 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 21, 2020
Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer Ben Hyrcanus: Forming the Rabbinic Tradition
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.
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?
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.
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.
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 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."
August 7, 2022
Tisha B'Av Through the Ages: How Did the Crusades Become Associated with Tisha B'Av?
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
January 21, 2008
Prayer and Women: Shelo Asani Ishah. The Talmud requires that men recite recite a daily blessing each day thanking God that they "were not created a woman".
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
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
June 15, 2020
Snapshots of American Jewish History - Part 2
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.
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 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 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
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.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
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.
March 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
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 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
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 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.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
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.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
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 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
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.
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 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
March 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
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.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
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 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
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 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
June 23, 2020
Snapshots of American Jewish History - Part 3
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.
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 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the biography of Benjamin Cardozo and his impact both in the judicial and Jewish world.
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.
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein’s reaction to the Orthodox feminist movement in the 1970s.
October 29, 2013
This lecture will explore the lack of anti-Islam polemic in the writings of the ibn Ezra and the reasons for this phenomenon.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein’s reaction to the Orthodox feminist movement in the 1970s.
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 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of this principle.
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 6, 2007
Solomon Freehof created the genre or responsa literature within the Reform movement.
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture,Rabbi Mintz presents the remarkable history of the Satmar Rav.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
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.
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?
April 5, 2020
Grape Juice at the Seder: Jewish Tradition Reacts to Prohibition
May 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
November 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
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 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.
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 31, 2019
In this lecture,Rabbi Mintz presents the remarkable history of the Satmar Rav.
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.
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?
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 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 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
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.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
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.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
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...
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 31, 2019
In this lecture,Rabbi Mintz presents the remarkable history of the Satmar Rav.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
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 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.
November 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
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.
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.
May 12, 2009
This lecture will highlight the roles of Louis Brandies and Rabbi Joseph B.
September 21, 2022
The Yamim Nora'im and its Liturgy (Part 3)
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
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.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein's responsum on conversions.
November 7, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the early days of Hollywood
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 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
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."
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 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
May 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
May 16, 2012
This lecture will explore the challenges and criticisms of the Hesder movement especially within certain segments of the Religious Zionist community.
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.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
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.
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 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
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 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
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 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 1, 2006
This class will analyze and compare the treatment of the Laws of Visiting the Sick as they are described in the Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch.
November 28, 2017
This lecture will examine four Jewish actors; John Garfield, Groucho Marx, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
October 29, 2013
This lecture will explore the lack of anti-Islam polemic in the writings of the ibn Ezra and the reasons for this phenomenon.
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?
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.
February 6, 2007
Solomon Freehof created the genre or responsa literature within the Reform movement.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
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.
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 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
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?
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.
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.
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.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
November 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
May 21, 2020
Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer Ben Hyrcanus: Forming the Rabbinic Tradition
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
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 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the biography of Benjamin Cardozo and his impact both in the judicial and Jewish world.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
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.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
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...
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.
April 5, 2020
Grape Juice at the Seder: Jewish Tradition Reacts to Prohibition
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.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
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.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
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 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 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture, Rabbi Mintz discusses the life and accomplishments of Henrietta Szold
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.
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.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
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.
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.
November 28, 2017
This lecture will examine four Jewish actors; John Garfield, Groucho Marx, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
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.
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.
May 21, 2020
Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer Ben Hyrcanus: Forming the Rabbinic Tradition
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
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 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 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.
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.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
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?
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
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.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
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.
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...
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
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.
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 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 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 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
May 31, 2019
In this lecture,Rabbi Mintz presents the remarkable history of the Satmar Rav.
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.
February 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
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.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
December 5, 2019
Rabbi Feinstein's responsum on conversions.
May 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
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 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.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
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.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
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 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.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
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.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
May 21, 2020
Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer Ben Hyrcanus: Forming the Rabbinic Tradition
October 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
September 21, 2022
The Yamim Nora'im and its Liturgy (Part 3)
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
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?
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.
August 7, 2022
Tisha B'Av Through the Ages: How Did the Crusades Become Associated with Tisha B'Av?
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."
February 15, 2012
This lecture will explore the approaches of Arukh Ha-Shulhan and Mishneh Brurah to halakhic codification during this period.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
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.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
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 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.
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.
September 14, 2022
The Yamim Nora'im and its Liturgy (Part 2)
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
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 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
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.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
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 30, 2018
In this lecture, we will trace three different periods in the history of Holocaust films
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
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 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.
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
May 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of this principle.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
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?
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
April 5, 2020
Grape Juice at the Seder: Jewish Tradition Reacts to Prohibition
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
April 5, 2020
Grape Juice at the Seder: Jewish Tradition Reacts to Prohibition
June 15, 2020
Snapshots of American Jewish History - Part 2
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.
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.
March 29, 2015
It gives me great pleasure to once again share with you my Shabbat Ha-Gadol drasha that was delivered at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim.
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 30, 2008
This lecture will explore this material and analyze how this bracha has been interpreted throughout the centuries.