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HISTORY CLASS: HISTORY OF JEWISH THOUGHT

10/14/2021

 
​An examination of how leading Jewish thinkers have attempted to reconcile Jewish belief with the reality of Jewish life. We shall examine questions such as:
  • In a world having a history of untold suffering—especially, it seemed, for Jews—was the existence of an all-powerful and comforting G-d still tenable?
  • What were the purpose and meaning of Jewish practices and customs, given the increasing number of Jews who placed greater value on their own autonomy?
  • Could Jews still justify the notion of a "chosen people" in a society where Jewish integration and full participation with the rest of humanity had become the norm?
Lecture 1: Studying Jewish History 
Lecture 2: Defining Modern Jewish Thought 
Lecture 3: The Italian Ghetto 
Lecture 4: Marranism & Messianism 
Lecture 5: Baruch Spinoza
Lecture 6: Moses Mendelssohn 
Lecture 7: Heinrich Graetz
Lecture 8: Abraham Geiger-Reform Judaism
Lecture 9: Samson Raphael Hirsch  
Lecture 10: Zacharias Frankel & Conservative Judaism 
Lecture 11: Samuel David Luzzatto: Judaism & Atticism 
Lecture 12: Zionism 
Lecture 13: Socialism 
Lecture 14: Herman Cohen
Lecture 15: Leo Baeck
Lecture 16: Martin Buber
Lecture 17: Buber v. Rosenzweig 
Lecture 18: Mordecai Kaplan
Lecture 19: Abraham Joshua Heschel 
Lecture 20: Theological Responses to the Holocaust 
Lecture 21: Feminist Jewish Theology 

HISTORY CLASS: THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

5/26/2021

 
The Dead Sea Scrolls provide us with an invaluable window into the Judaism of the latter Second Temple Period. This is the Judaism from which modern Judaism and Christianity were born. ​
- Lecture 1 (Introduction)
- Lecture 2 (Scandal and Publication)
- Lecture 3 (The Manual of Discipline)
- Lecture 4 (Historical Backdrop)
- Lecture 5 (Sects of the Second Temple)
- Lecture 6 (The Qumran Site)
- Lecture 7 (The Rabbinic System)
- Lecture 8 (The Cairo Geniza)
- Lecture 9 (Pesher Texts)
- Lecture 10 (The War Scroll)
- Lecture 11 (Qumran Manuscripts)
- Lecture 12 (Vision for a New Temple)
- Lecture 13 (Daily Life)
- Lecture 14 (The Halachic Letter)
- Lecture 15 (The Qumran Biblical Canon)
- Lecture 16 (The Calendar)
- Lecture 17 (Qumran Ritual)
- Lecture 18 (Prayer)
- Lecture 19 (The Politics of Qumran Hebrew)
-Lecture 20 (The Copper Scroll) 
​
- Lecture 21 (Connections to Christianity)
- Lecture 22 (Scroll Fragments)
​

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Ki Tisa 5781: Isn't It Enough to Just Be Spiritual?

2/25/2021

 
Why does God emphasize action over belief? ​
Video: To watch click here

Three-part Jewish history class as part of the Delaware Association of Rabbis & Cantors (DERECH) Introduction to Judaism series

2/10/2021

 
​The class provides an overview of Jewish history while examining historical trends. Close attention will be paid to the influence that Jewish culture has had on the wider culture and visa versa.
Lecture 1: Abraham to Solomon 
Lecture 2: The Divided Monarchical Period to the Rise of Islam  
Lecture 3: The Crusades to Today
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Vayigash 5781: Correcting the Record

12/25/2020

 
​A respectful response to inaccuracies about Israel in President Obama's autobiography.
Video: To watch click here
PDF Text of Sermon
File Size: 120 kb
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The Real History of Chanukah

12/11/2020

 

The Hasmonean revolt was as much a civil war as it was a war against the Seleucid Empire.

Video: To watch click here

Toldot 5781: Torah for your Thanksgiving Table

11/22/2020

 

The connection between Thanksgiving & Sukkot is deep and speaks directly to today's America. 

Video: To watch click here

Tisha Bav History Class: Destruction and Redemption

8/28/2020

 
A look at the events which led up to the destruction of the Second Temple. 
Video:​ To watch click here

HISTORY CLASS: JEWISH LIFE IN CHRISTIAN & MUSLIM LANDS

6/18/2020

 
This history course focuses on the encounter of a rabbinic civilization shaped centuries earlier in the Near East with the emerging new social, political, economic and intellectual environments of medieval Islam and Christianity. We will explore how these three major Western religions interacted with and influenced each other between the 7th and 17th centuries. ​
Click here to watch lecture 1: Life Under Islam 
Click here to watch lecture 2: The Gaonic Age
Click here to watch lecture 3​: The Rise of Saadia Gaon​​
Click here to watch lecture 4: The Philosophy of Saadia Gaon 
Click here to watch lecture 5: The Rise of the Spanish Jewish Community
Click here to watch lecture 6: Judah ha-Levi
Click here to watch lecture 7: Maimonides
Click here to watch lecture 8: Jews in Christian Lands
Click here to watch lecture 9: Origins of Christian attitudes towards Jews
Click here to watch Lecture 10: The Crusades and the Jews
Click here to watch lecture 11: Rashi
Click here to watch lecture 12: Kabbalah
Click here to watch lecture 13: German Jewry 
Click here to watch Lecture 14: Medieval Jewish-Christian Debates

Click here to watch Lecture 15: Medieval anti-Semitism 

Click here to watch lecture 16: The Medieval Jewish Family

Click here to watch lecture 17: Spanish Jewry

Click here to watch lecture 18: Italian Jewry

Click here to watch lecture 19: Kabbalah in Safat
Click here to watch lecture 20: Shabbetai Zevi
Click here to watch lecture 21: Eastern European Jewry 
Click here to watch lecture 22: The Sephardim of Amsterdam

Vayetze 5779: How Important is the Synagogue to the Jewish Community?

12/6/2018

 
​Jacob stumbled into the world’s first synagogue while on the run. What can we learn from his experience?
Vayetze5779voice.pdf
File Size: 101 kb
File Type: pdf
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