Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

1

Parshas Lech Lecha: Why didn't Abraham fight for his wife as he fought for Lot?

Oct 21, 2026

26:42

Who WERE Abraham's חֲנִיכָיו?

2

Genazym is offering the first Hebrew תנ"ך published in America in 1814. During the War of 1812

Oct 21, 2026

33:28

Christians in the new USA were very anxious to see the "Old Testament" in the original Hebrew, the Bible used by their Jewish neighbors. Did they suspect their own Christian translations were less than accurate?

3

Genazym is offering THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT of the עָרוּךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן הֶעָתִיד in the (very clear) handwriting of the author himself

Oct 20, 2026

26:23

On הִלְכוֹת בִּנְיַן בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְהִלְכוֹת מַעֲשֵׂה הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת. The author's unique contribution to תְּנוּעַת שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן?

4

Whatever happened in the long run to the נֶפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ בְּחָרָן ?

Oct 20, 2026

28:37

Could they be the עֵרֶב רַב? Were they enslaved by Pharaoh? Was it the threat of slavery that led them to abandon the Abrahamic religion?

5

Genazym is offering a fascinating personal letter (1909) from the חֵפֶץ חַיִּים declining to take part in a שְׁלִיחוּת הַגֵּט

Oct 15, 2026

31:18

"I am not a Rov, and I do not mix in such matters, but I CAN advise you who you should send it to."

6

Rabbi Katz on the current situation in Saudi Arabia and how it affects Israel

Oct 15, 2026

31:56

Having poisoned their people for a century on Anti-Israel propaganda, the regime is not able to take-advantage of Israel's help in the war against the Houthis, which may lead to the collapse of S Arabia!

7

Genazym is offering a historical letter (1912) from R Chaim Ozer to the דּוֹרוֹת רִאשׁוֹנִים re: the upcoming founding of the Agudah

Oct 14, 2026

46:51

This letter contains "insider baseball" by two "players" re: the political, religious, and logistical challenges connected with trying to launch the world's first international Charedi political organization.

8

הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת נֹחַ תשפ"ז - "מֵי נֹחַ זֹאת לִי"

Oct 13, 2026

21:15

Why did God Promise to not destroy THIS world (as opposed to earlier world He did destroy)?

9

פָּרָשַׁת נֹחַ תשפ"ז - Were the lands uninhabited by humans destroyed in the Flood?

Oct 12, 2026

34:24

Were ALL the animals & creatures on the Ark? What about those who lived in uninhabited areas? Were THOSE animals corrupted?

10

Prelude to the Deluge: Is is it Bnai Elohim or Bnai Elokim?

Oct 11, 2026

33:12

If not angels, then what could be the meaning of Bnai Elokim (as per Ibn Ezra and Netziv)

11

Parshas Bereishis #2 The Eternal Meaning of the Cain and Abel story

Oct 8, 2026

25:33

If God told Cain to stop being angry, how could Cain not listen?

12

Parshas Bereishis #5 What is the meaning of אָז הוּחַל לִקְרֹא בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה?

Oct 8, 2026

26:52

What is the beginning of idolatry? Or rather the beginning of true religious enlightenment (in the frum sense)?

13

Parshas Bereishis #4 - The Opaque tale of Lemech

Oct 7, 2026

32:21

What is the significance of telling us of his polygamy? Of his progeny? Who exactly did he kill?

14

Parshas Bereishis #2 What was the Tree of Life?

Oct 6, 2026

30:54

Why wasn't Cain killed for murdering Abel?

15

Pashas Bereishis 5767 Part 1 - Onkelos on the Names of God in the Chumash

Oct 5, 2026

36:20

The challenge of Gnostic Judaism, the Left-Wing of Hellenistic Judaism in the Ancient World

16

הֱוֵי מְקַבֵּל אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם בְּסֵבֶר פָּנִים יָפוֹת vs. וֶהֱוֵי מְקַבֵּל אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם בְּשִׂמְחָה in light of Hoshana Rabbah

Oct 2, 2026

34:04

Civility vs. Affection: Two different approaches

17

The נַעֲנוּעִים in 5787 (2027) in light of current events

Oct 1, 2026

28:05

The physical and political dangers we face from all directions

18

פָּרָשַׁת וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה תשפ"ז - Before Moshe blesses the hereditary Jews, he blesses the גֵּרִים

Sep 28, 2026

30:28

Including the עֵרֶב רַב!

19

A new interpretation of בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מִמִּצְרַיִם - סֻכּוֹת מַמָּשׁ

Sep 28, 2026

32:32

Where did the Jews sleep BEFORE they crossed the Red Sea?

20

Leone Modena's explanation of the halachos of the arba minim and the US Constitution

Sep 25, 2026

30:02

The נַעֲנוּעִים are not some devil-worship ritual, but rather a sublime Maimonidean-Logical rite of acknowledging God's sovereignty over everything, even the Heavens. The great impact of Modena's explanation upon Gentile intellectuals

21

Calling a Spade a Spade: The עוֹלְלוֹת אֶפְרַיִם on the אַרְבַּע מִינִים

Sep 24, 2026

27:16

The לוּלָב is the תַּלְמִיד חָכָם who is a turnoff!

22

Sukkos and the Battle for "The" Official-Memory of the 40 years in the desert

Sep 23, 2026

20:46

The years in the Desert were magical, wondrous, and wonderful (עַנָּנֵי הַכָּבוֹד)ORThe year in the desert were physically torturous and ended in death (because of the two big sins) (סֻכּוֹת מַמָּשׁ)

23

Intellectual Bankruptcy and the Current (non-frum) Jewish Anti-Zionism

Sep 22, 2026

32:01

Will Dissolving Israel and returning to Galus save the Jewish People? Are you nuts?

24

The unusual מַחְלֹקֶת רִאשׁוֹנִים re: The אַרְבָּעָה חִלּוּקֵי כַּפָּרָה

Sep 20, 2026

24:06

The סֵפֶר הָאֶשְׁכּוֹל says that is not how Heaven operates

25

שַׁבַּת שׁוּבָה פָּרָשַׁת הַאֲזִינוּ תשפ"ז - Moshe goes out on a rhetorical high

Sep 17, 2026

29:23

When misfortune strikes, will you intelligent enough to be thoughtfully and constructively self-critical? Or will you be like everyone else in the Middle East?

26

A Possible History of Yom Kippur

Sep 16, 2026

30:09

Why does the Torah (i.e., Hashem) permit everything on Yom Kippur except eating and drinking?

27

Rabbi Yekusiel Aryeh Kamelhar (1871-1937), life in the Jewish Galicia in the fin de siècle

Sep 16, 2026

56:44

At different times, a Rav, Rosh Yeshiva, Historian, journalist. Seeking a footing when you are an original thinker but not a member of the "in club" in Hasidic society

28

Major Alfred Mordecai US Army (1804-1887): Can one stay frum at West Point?

Sep 14, 2026

50:02

Robert E Lee chose the Confederacy. George Thomas chose the Union. Which side did Major Mordecai choose?

29

Rosh Hashanah and the Dangers of AI: An interpretation of the theme of Malchiyos

Sep 10, 2026

29:04

Also: The historical origins of וְכֵן תֵּן פַּחְדְּךָ

30

A Historical Introduction to the Drashos HaRamban to Rosh HaShanah, Pt. 2

Sep 9, 2026

52:57

Ramban, a Sephardi, spars with his Ashkenazic audience

31

A Historical Introduction to the Drashos HaRamban to Rosh HaShanah, Pt. 1

Sep 7, 2026

1:03:44

A Sephardi take on עִנְיְנֵי רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה delivered in an Ashkenazi yeshiva (in the Capital of the Crusader Kingdom) in 1267

32

Rosh Hashanah: A Suggested History of Malchiyos, Zichronos and Shofros in the Common Liturgy (5787)

Sep 6, 2026

37:45

Did the predecessors of R’ Abahu also combine different meanings of תְּקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר that were "out there" into a single standard liturgy for all Jews? Was he merely following their example of uniformization?

33

Haftarah Nitzavim-VaYelech: Angelology and the Final Redemption

Sep 4, 2026

26:30

Will Hashem Himself kill Edom? Or will it be the Archangel Michael? Different strands of Jewish Tradition.

34

פָּרָשַׁת נִצָּבִים תשפ"ו "הַנִּסְתָּרוֹת וְהַנִּגְלוֹת" לְמַה בְּדִיּוּק מִתְכַּוֵּן הַתּוֹרָה?

Sep 3, 2026

39:04

Are courts, shul-rabbis, teachers, roshei-yeshiva and mashgichim, principals etc. obligated to organize spies and snitches in the institutions under their control?

35

רַבִּי יְשַׁעְיָהוּ דִּטְרַנִי - הַ"תּוֹסְפוֹת רי"ד " (1150s-1240s) THE Gadol of Italy & the Byzantine Empire

Sep 2, 2026

37:30

Classic case of a Rishon (among the greatest, according to his contemporaries) whose writings were forgotten for centuries and then rediscovered in the Modern era.

36

What is the exact history of the practice of 30 shofar blasts? Part 2

Aug 31, 2026

37:07

A Hasidic-Kabbalistic metahistorical narrative from the בְּנֵי יִשָּׂשכָר

37

הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תָבֹא תשפ"ו - The Nations of the World "See the Light"

Aug 27, 2026

32:13

In the Messianic Era, will the Jews influence the gentiles to respect Judaism, or will the gentiles' respect for Judaism influence the Jews to value their own religion?

38

תְּקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר as part of anti-Karaite/Sadduceean Rabbinic Judaism

Aug 27, 2026

29:07

Aspects of the laws of תְּקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר reflect anti-heretical practices which are such an interesting part of Rabbanite Judaism

39

Did World War Two end widespread antisemitism in America?

Aug 26, 2026

34:38

Already in 1945 organizations like the ADL & Co. feared some future technology (like the internet) which would empower antisemitic groups and even enable them to win elections

40

Rabbi Aharon of Narbonne (Luniel), late 1200s-early 1300s, the אָרְחוֹת חַיִּים

Aug 24, 2026

51:40

Thoughts on the social-history of rabbinic literature: How come some seforim take-off (like the Tur), while others remain obscure, despite their quality?

41

What is the exact history of the practice of 30 shofar blasts? Part 1

Aug 24, 2026

35:40

Talmud Bavli, Rambam, Zohar

42

הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תֵּצֵא תשפ"ו - The Childless woman discovers she has children!

Aug 19, 2026

26:20

The sharp (and deep) conversation between בְּרוּרְיָה and the Jew for J

43

פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תֵּצֵא תשפ"ו - Moshe switches from Musar to Halacha

Aug 17, 2026

26:10

Do these laws originate with Moshe, just Hashem confirms them? Were they told to him at an earlier time?

44

The Imprisonment of the Tosafos Yom Tov in the Historical Context of the Thirty Years War

Aug 17, 2026

1:05:43

Worthy of its own miniseries: Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller, Jacob Bassevi, Albrecht von Wallenstein and The Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II

45

Some Original Thoughts about the Original Elul

Aug 16, 2026

35:13

Moshe was up on the Mountain for the third time with two blank tablets waiting for writing to appear...

46

Haftarah Shoftim: Don't give up hope for a Glorious Future!

Aug 13, 2026

26:08

Isaiah endeavors to inspire hope in a Jewish People suffering (understandably) from depression and hopelessness because of so much persecution. The future is brighter than you can imagine!

47

Parshas Shoftim: Moses Shifts Gears From Mussar Schmooze to Practical Directions for Government

Aug 13, 2026

40:18

Also, Rambam vs. Ramban re: whether the Canaanites must be exterminated or not

48

פְּשַׁט vs. דְּרַשׁ in Judaism and Christianity: A Tale from the שֵׁבֶט יְהוּדָה

Aug 11, 2026

24:02

כָּל פָּסוּק בְּלָשׁוֹן עִבְרִי סוֹבֵל כָּל צוּרָה שֶׁיִּרְצֶה הַמְּצַיֵּר, אֲבָל הַצּוּרָה הָאֲמִתִּית בְּמָה יִתְאַמֵּת הֲלֹא הוּא אִם נִמְשְׁכוּ שְׁאָר הַפְּסוּקִים עַל הַצּוּרָה הַהִיא.

49

Rabbi Abraham Bing of Frankfurt and Wurzburg (1752-1841), the most influential modern German Gadol you never heard of

Aug 10, 2026

53:26

The Rebbe of all the German Gedolim (in Germany and elsewhere) you ever heard of. Really

50

הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת רְאֵה תשפ"ו - A בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ constructed out of diamonds? Literally?

Aug 5, 2026

32:03

Only in the Messianic Era will Israel be totally free of terror. Sigh