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Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

To help support this podcast, please consider giving a tax deductible contribution here: https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz Rabbi Dovid Katz, PhD is lauded for his extensive knowledge of Jewish History, his engaging and insightful lecture series, and eye opening historical international tours. Follow him weekly. New content released each week, including Personalities in Jewish History, Insights into Tefillah and Perspectives on the Haftarah and Parshah. Sponsorships of podcasts are available. He can be reached at the following email: [email protected].

A Conversation w/ Gabe Aaronson, Chief Numbers-Cruncher for the OU

31 mins; August 20, 2023

The מַטֵּה אֶפְרַיִם, the richest Gadol in many centuries. How did he excel in business and Torah?

59 mins; August 20, 2023

Why is there a זֵכֶר for the third round of 40 days, but not for the second?

29 mins; August 17, 2023

Abraham Drabkin (1844-1927) a Reform rabbi in Czarist Russia?

83 hours 53 mins; August 17, 2023

Isaiah says only הקב"ה can provide genuine comfort for all the sufferings of the Jews down the Ages

29 mins; August 15, 2023

Analyzing the distinction between שופטים and kings (דְּרָשׁוֹת הָרַ"ן)

30 mins; August 14, 2023

The great גרש"ד Kahana, spirited out of the Warsaw Ghetto to become Rav of Old City of Jerusalem

57 mins; August 14, 2023

Parshas Re'eh and Jewish History: The Existential Tension in Jewish History Between the Centralizers and the Decentralizers

29 mins; August 09, 2023

The consequences of stating that the soul is a חֵלֶק אֱלֹהַּ מִמַּעַל

22 mins; August 08, 2023

Haftarah Re’eh: Isaiah Envisions a World Where G-d Tells the Jews Which Minhag He Likes

28 mins; August 07, 2023

Re'eh: what is the meaning of לְשִׁכְנוֹ תִדְרְשׁוּ וּבָאתָ שָׁמָּה?

32 mins; August 06, 2023

R Shlomo Dovid Kahana, Pt. 2: Warsaw and Its Yeshivas

59 mins; August 06, 2023

If people have multiple "souls," which ones go where?

29 mins; August 03, 2023

15th of Av: Is יוֹם שֶׁהֻתְּרוּ הַשְּׁבָטִים לָבֹא זֶה בָּזֶה the same as יוֹם שֶׁהֻתַּר בִּנְיָמִין

59 mins; August 02, 2023

Haftarah Eikev: Did G-d Divorce the Kingdom of Yisroel (Not Judah)?

32 mins; August 01, 2023

Why the strange phrase "וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת כָּל הָעַמִּים "?

32 mins; August 01, 2023

R Shlomo Dovid Kahana, the greatest gadol of the 20th century you never heard of. Part 1

60 hours 31 mins; August 01, 2023

Radbaz (who was big in both נִגְלֶה וְנִסְתָּר) describes Rambam's attitude towards גֵּיהִנֹּם

32 mins; July 26, 2023

Parshas VaEschanan: Moshe Says That the חֻקִּים Will Inspire the Admiration of the Gentiles. Why?

31 mins; July 25, 2023

What is a חָסִיד (in the classical sense of the term) supposed to think on תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב?

28 mins; July 25, 2023

Lewis Strauss - A Story About a Famous Reform Jew and His Connection to Klal Yisroel

59 mins; July 25, 2023

Robert Oppenheimer and מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה

41 mins; July 24, 2023

Rabbi Katz tisha b'av schedule this year

1 min; July 23, 2023

Isaiah does not mention idolatry as the problem. He mentions social Injustice!

24 mins; July 20, 2023

Why are some laws only in Devarim?

39 mins; July 20, 2023

RFK Jr. and dangerous rhetoric re: Jews and Corona

25 mins; July 18, 2023

שְׂכַר הַצַּדִּיקִים לְפִי הָרַמְחַ"ל

31 mins; July 17, 2023

Ramban's anxious letter to his son who lived with the Rich Jews at the Royal Court

30 mins; July 13, 2023

Haftarah of the Three Weeks: Digging wells that turn out to have no water

26 mins; July 13, 2023

Parshas Matos: Wars of Revenge?

36 mins; July 13, 2023

Traditionalist Jews in Israel and the question of religious coercion

32 mins; July 10, 2023

Bastille Day 2023, the riots in France, and Jewish History

42 mins; July 09, 2023

Shivah Assar B’Tammuz: Who was Apostomus? What Exactly Did He Do?

32 mins; July 06, 2023

Haftarah: Jeremiah, the descendant of רָחָב הַזּוֹנָה

31 mins; July 04, 2023

What is the meaning of the vague phrase: אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל בָּשָׂר?

34 mins; July 04, 2023

More on the Fourth of July and Klal Yisroel

37 mins; July 03, 2023

Cordovero's extremely vivid description of the different "departments" of heaven and hell

27 mins; July 03, 2023

Thoughts on the Historical Legacy of R’ Yaakov Ruderman

41 mins; July 02, 2023

The Fourth of July and the Jews

42 mins; July 02, 2023

Haftarah Balak: What is the מוּסָר הַשְׂכֵּל the Prophet extracts from the Bilam story?

27 mins; June 29, 2023

Parshas Balak: Unlike Balaam, the Patriarchs built 7 altars but did not offer sacrifices on them

31 mins; June 29, 2023

Parshas Chukas: Are the Two Stories of Hitting the Rock (בשלח and חוקת) One and the Same?

28 mins; June 26, 2023

Korach as a Leadership Type in Jewish History in the Diaspora

30 mins; June 25, 2023

Dvar Torah on כריתות at yahrtzeit siyum for R Katz's mother

37 mins; June 23, 2023

Why did God (and Samuel) choose the inexperienced Saul?

28 mins; June 23, 2023

Memory vs. History re: the Burning of the Talmud in Paris on פרשת חוקת

42 mins; June 22, 2023

Parshas Korach: Korach and the Power of "Spin"

33 mins; June 21, 2023

R Cordovero on the Summum Bonum- different departments of Heaven

45 mins; June 20, 2023

Capsali's history of the Turkish Empire. Why would a chashuva rov write a history of the Turks?

54 mins; June 18, 2023

Was רָחָב הַזּוֹנָה an idealist or an opportunist?

34 mins; June 14, 2023

Parshas שלח: what is the meaning of כִּי לַחְמֵנוּ הֵם?

39 mins; June 13, 2023

R Eliyahu Kapsaly part 2. His account of the Expulsion from Spain

56 mins; June 12, 2023

Summum Bonum: The style of the Kabbalists in relating to all the differing chazals on Olam Haba etc.

35 mins; June 11, 2023

20th of Sivan: R Katz analyzes some Cossack massacres from the perspective of 2023

34 mins; June 11, 2023

Haftarah בהעלותך: What will the gentiles do in the Messianic Era?

31 mins; June 07, 2023

Did Moshe marry a Black גִּיּוֹרֶת after מַתַּן תּוֹרָה?

39 mins; June 06, 2023

R Elyahu Kapsali 1480-1550): rare case of a Rov who was also a historian

56 mins; June 06, 2023

Intro to Cordovero (רמ"ק הקדוש) on the Summum Bonum

37 mins; June 05, 2023

What is the sociological meaning of expelling undesirables from "the מַחֲנֶה"?

33 mins; June 01, 2023

Simon Wolf (1836-1923) American Reform Jew who saved vast numbers of Eastern European Jews

70 hours 48 mins; June 01, 2023

Haftarah Naso: Why do Chawla Say Manoach was an Am HaAretz?

37 mins; May 30, 2023

A 15th Century Letter Inviting All Ashkenazic Jews to Leave Germany and Move to Turkey

60 hours 44 mins; May 29, 2023

What Were the "Crowns" of Shavuos?

28 mins; May 25, 2023

The Angel מְטַטְרוֹן and the Revelation on Shavuos

67 hours 34 mins; May 23, 2023

Shavuos: The symbolism of the waving of the breads and the sheep together

36 mins; May 22, 2023

Abraham Benvniste and the Yeshiva of Zamora in Castile: The Spanish "Lakewood" of the 15th Century

48 mins; May 22, 2023

Shavuos: The רמ"א in תּוֹרַת הָעוֹלָה connects the שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם to מַתַּן תּוֹרָה

31 mins; May 21, 2023

Another reason שבועות is not mentioned as זמן מתן תורתנו in the חומש

33 mins; May 19, 2023

Hosea, himself married to a faithless wife, blasts the Jews for being unfaithful to God

28 mins; May 18, 2023

Shavuos and Matan Torah: Famous Critiques of the Chinuch-System of the Old Days

52 mins; May 17, 2023

Parshas Bamidbar: The Logistics of the March from Sinai to the Promised Land

31 mins; May 16, 2023

Post medieval opinions re: Summum Bonum -Kabbalistic

30 mins; May 16, 2023

Three Items from the Era of Sabbatean Fights (Genazym)

38 mins; May 15, 2023

Abraham Benveniste (15th Century): Restored Yiddishkeit to a Bleeding Spanish Jewry

60 hours 7 mins; May 14, 2023

Genazym Offers a חומש from Prague from the בַּעַל שׁוּ"ת תְּשׁוּבָה מֵאַהֲבָה & His Close Catholic Friend

60 hours 38 mins; May 12, 2023

A Venetian Jewish MD and Spy in the 17th Century, Liked by Both Sides

59 mins; May 10, 2023

The Prophet Jeremiah attacks syncretism & demands radical severance from paganism

30 mins; May 09, 2023

Bechukosai: The Historical Significance of וְאֶתְכֶם אֶזָּרֶה בַּגּוֹיִם

30 mins; May 08, 2023

Lag B'Omer: Why was Only R’ Akiva's Yeshiva Hit?

36 mins; May 08, 2023

Genazym Offers the Notorious Giustiniani Edition of the Rambam, a Capitalist Fight of Long Ago

52 mins; May 07, 2023

The Coronation of King Charles III: What is the Role of a King in Jewish Thought?

28 mins; May 07, 2023

Rabbi Isaac Cantarini of Padua (1644-1723), Rov & MD, and the pogrom of 1684

76 hours 7 mins; May 05, 2023

Haftarah Emor: The Bad Kohanim Who "Went-Along," and the Good Ones Who Remained Loyal

33 mins; May 04, 2023

Chasdai Crescas: Is G-d Omnipotence? Omniscience? Or Love?

28 mins; May 02, 2023

Parshas Emor: Did the Blasphemer Curse G-d? Or G-d's Name?

38 mins; May 02, 2023

A Famous Story About Abraham Benveniste, an Honest King, and an Attempted Blood Libel

51 mins; May 01, 2023

Abarbanel & Kli Yakar Summarize Opinions on Sumum Bonum

29 mins; April 27, 2023

Amos' Summum Bonum in the Here and Now: A Rebuilt Prosperous Kingdom in אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל (Haftarah)

31 mins; April 26, 2023

Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim: Blood and the "Battle" Between the Beis HaMikdash and the Bamos

31 mins; April 26, 2023

Shem Tov ben Shem Tov: Looking for reasons for the Holocaust of 1391. Part 1

58 mins; April 24, 2023

Haftarah Shabbos Rosh Chodesh: How will Christians and Muslims Feel in the Messianic Era?

43 mins; April 20, 2023

The Political Crisis in Israel: Drafting the Bnei Torah, and Ketores Considerations

47 mins; April 20, 2023

What's the Meaning of Isaiah's Reference to a New Heaven & Earth? (Sumum Bonum)

38 mins; April 18, 2023

Parshas Tazria-Metzora: What is Unique About the Leprous House?

25 mins; April 16, 2023

Shlomo Alami's contemporary harsh criticism of Spanish Jewry in the wake of 1391

75 hours 14 mins; April 16, 2023

Crescas: Will the Moshiach be a Greater Prophet than Moshe?

32 mins; April 10, 2023

The Rambam vs Shem Tov on the Theological Significance of קְרִיעַת יַם סוּף

43 mins; April 10, 2023

The Crisis in Spanish Jewry 1391-1492: The Shem Tovs and Their Differences

73 hours 41 mins; April 09, 2023

The Abarbanel's fascinating connecting the Jewish fate in Egypt to the מְכִירַת יוֹסֵף

25 mins; April 03, 2023

Haggadah 2023: What Does It Mean, "The רשע Would Not Have Been Redeemed?" Many Were!

32 mins; April 02, 2023

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Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

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