16th Century Tsfat - 4 Lectures
Item #: S314
More Info
Jewish Political Intrigue
4 Lectures
Item #: S420
More Info
7 Lectures
Set of 7 MP3 Downloads
2 Lectures
Set of 2 MP3 Downloads
4 Lectures
Set of 4 MP3 Downloads
3 Lectures
Set of 3 MP3 Downloads
Medieval / 622 - 1666
REMEMBERING THE CRUSADES
One of the reasons why the sefira period of time between Pesach and Shavuot is marked as a period of semi-mourning on the Jewish calendar is the haunting memory of the pogroms that accompanied the First Crusade in 1096. The first thirty-three days of the sefira period mark the deaths of the twenty-four thousand students of Rabbi Akiva in the times of the Roman persecutions initiated by Hadrian in the second century CE.
Read More
LASTING HEROES
One of the tendencies of modern historiography is to debunk past heroes. Revisionist historians have blackened the name of some of the great people of the past by dwelling extensively on their human foibles and personal difficulties. Not only does this attitude reinforce the false idea that there are no real heroes in the world, it indirectly absolves all of us from ever attempting to be a hero to one's family, community or nation. Read More
The Treacherous Journey to the Holy Land
Reb Yehuda Halevy’s poetry is suffused with the ideal of the return to Zion. His famous kinah for Tisha B’Av reflects this. More to the point, as an individual, he felt that if could just get to Eretz Yisroel, his cup of joy would overflow.
In his times, the Crusaders dominated Eretz Yisroel. There was constant war and banditry. It was in no way safe, and especially not for Jews. Read More