Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

1

Seder Thoughts 2026

Apr 1, 2026

40:33

Some ideas for your seder

2

Plagiarism in Rabbinical Literature - The case of the נוֹדַע בִּיהוּדָה

Mar 31, 2026

50:18

The passionate speeches of the נוֹדַע בִּיהוּדָה and his son against the theft of their intellectual property

3

Passover in Jewish history: Some Historical questions re: how it was celebrated

Mar 29, 2026

34:05

In Israel right now, people are praying the enemy missiles should "pass over"!

4

Shabbos HaGadol 2026

Mar 29, 2026

1:18:05

Some thoughts on בַּל יֵרָאֶה עַל בְּלִיעוֹת וְחָמֵץ הַטַּל בְּשִׁשִּׁים. Plus, plagiarism in rabbinic literature, eradicating bad traits, and other matters.

5

What's the first thing the Jews do after Pharaoh give the permisson to leave?

Mar 27, 2026

26:48

Why were the Jews told to lie to the Egyptians? Isn't that the ultimate חילול השם? "Jews are all about money!"

6

Tucker Carlson & Henry Ford - Compare and contrast

Mar 26, 2026

26:09

The poisonous rhetoric of both men. But the Ford Antisemitism called-forth an eloquent protest from America's leading non-Jews. R Katz reads this public letter on this episode.

7

פָּרָשַׁת צַו תשפ"ו (שַׁבָּת הַגָּדוֹל) - the מֶשֶׁךְ חָכְמָה and the theory of the two types of קָרְבָּנוֹת

Mar 26, 2026

24:31

The קָרְבָּנוֹת offered on the בָּמוֹת were (Maimonidean) concessions to popular superstitionsOTOH the קָרְבָּנוֹת offered in the בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ were sublime in nature and were (Nachmanidean) constituent-elements in the metaphysical universe

8

הַפְטָרַת שַׁבָּת הַגָּדוֹל תשפ"ו - Why is Elijah the one sent before "The Great and Terrible Day"?

Mar 23, 2026

30:20

Will תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים occur for the benefit of the Dead, or the benefit of the Living?

9

Rabban Gamliel and the Matzah at the Seder - the interpretation of Abarbanel

Mar 22, 2026

37:24

It is NOT about the affliction, it is about the hope for the messianic redemption in the near future. This is Abarbanel speaking to the battered Sephardim in 1496!

10

"The Chuck Norris Era" in American popular culture as it relates to the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Mar 22, 2026

26:51

Can "Christian Zionism" flourish in the aftermath of the Cold War? Or is it a phenomenon confined to older Americans?

11

More on Israel-German Relations (and Non-Relations) in the 1950s and 60s. And some comments on Trump's retort to the Japanese today

Mar 20, 2026

46:02

Trump joked about the Pearl Harbor Attack of 1941. Actually, this resulted in Hitler stupidly declaring war on the USA (thus sealing his own doom) , PLUS providing the Americans with an insight into his thinking, thanks to the blabbermouth Japanese Ambassador in Berlin Baron Oshima

12

R Katz analyzes aspects of the latest developments in the chaotic war-situation

Mar 18, 2026

28:28

Are Bibi and Trump encouraging the Syrians to invade Lebanon and "disarm" (i.e., exterminate) Hezbollah? Who gains from that? This is reminiscent of certain Biblical episodes...

13

הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת וַיִּקְרָא תשפ"ו - Korbanos in Judaism and in Paganism

Mar 17, 2026

23:11

Man-made idols do not offer moral criticism!

14

Various definitions of אִשָּׁה חֲשׁוּבָה (Passover Seder)

Mar 17, 2026

34:14

Looks? Bucks? Yichus? Higher salary? Higher job position? Class? Equal Partner in the Marriage?

15

פָּרָשַׁת וַיִּקְרָא תשפ"ו - Rambam on Korbanos that don't make sense

Mar 15, 2026

37:38

For the first year after the original Passover, there were basically no korbanos (with a few exceptions) in Judaism

16

More Strange Bedfellows: Germany financed Israel's A- Bomb Project (Dimona) back in the 1960s. A story in the news today

Mar 13, 2026

53:19

Israel agreed not to "out" ex-Nazis in the West German Government. A grateful Germany bankrolled Israel's secret nuclear project. An previously unknown detail of the relationship between Ben Gurion and Konrad Adenauer

17

זֵכֶר יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם VS סִפּוּר יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם part 1

Mar 11, 2026

25:23

What did the Jews imagine was going to happen when they were told God would "pass over" their houses that night?

18

Some historical considerations re: Poles, Jews, Hitler, Food, and the Holocaust

Mar 10, 2026

36:41

The German food crisis of 1942 as a cause of the setting-up of industrial genocide centers in Occupied Poland in 1942

19

הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת הַחֹדֶשׁ תשפ"ו - Abrabanel: "ha-ha מְשֻׁמָּדִים וּמְסִיתִים וּמַדִּיחִים, don't tell me THIS prophecy is metaphorical!"

Mar 9, 2026

25:05

High- Office will have the power to tempt the powerful to be corrupt even in the Messianic Era!

20

פָּרָשַׁת וַיַּקְהֵל-פְּקוּדֵי תשפ"ו The Contrast between the מִשְׁכָּן-idea and the שַׁבָּת-idea

Mar 9, 2026

26:01

Shabbos - God the Creator of literally everything, hence beyond transcendentMishkan- God something that has a "presence" (שְׁכִינָה), hence somehow immanent

21

Abarbanel on Messianism Part 2. R Katz gives a historical introduction to Abarbanel's יְשׁוּעוֹת מְשִׁיחוֹ" עַל מַאַמׇרֵי חֲזַ"ל בְּסִפְרוּת הַתַּלְמוּד”

Mar 8, 2026

1:02:07

Abarbanel burns with indignation at the falsehoods to which the Jews had been subject at the Disputation of Tortosa (1413) and the hostile misrepresentations of Aggadah in Raymond Martini's infamous 'Pugio Fidei" cynically hurled at them

22

הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת פָּרָה תשפ"ו - The Red Cow as a Historiosophical Mystical Reality

Mar 6, 2026

23:36

That which becomes impure can be made pure again; a nation that becomes homeless can regain their home

23

פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תִּשָּׂא תשפ"ו - Why the Juxtaposition of the קְטֹרֶת and the עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב?

Mar 4, 2026

30:33

God can only be comprehended (to some extent) through history, not philosophy!

24

The shaky acceptance of Purim by the Jewish people back at the time of Mordechai

Mar 4, 2026

41:22

Why did the Jews stop observing Purim a few years after they originally accepted it?

25

Iran and Hamas: בּוֹר כָּרָה וַיַּחְפְּרֵהוּ וַיִּפֹּל בְּשַׁחַת יִפְעָל ("Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made.")

Mar 2, 2026

38:23

Has Sinwar ימ"ש caused the death of Khamenei and the fall of his regime? The ironies of the Purim season

26

Analyzing the קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ episode. If it is actually a valid complaint, why were the Jews punished for sins in the Biblical Era?

Mar 2, 2026

36:24

Was the mountain held over their heads at Sinai to compel them to accept ALL the mitzvot? Did the Jews not want to accept ANY mitzvot? Or just some of them? In other words, what actually happened as a result of Purim?

27

The archaeology of a Dvar Torah - The כְּתַב סוֹפֵר on the last verse in the Megilah

Mar 1, 2026

37:42

Why would he deprecate the use of coercion on the non-frum? The answer lies in his own and his family's history...

28

Addendum to the podcast this morning re: הֵגֶא סְרִיס הַמֶּלֶךְ שֹׁמֵר הַנָּשִׁים

Feb 26, 2026

8:22

וְנָתַתִּי לָהֶם בְּבֵיתִי וּבְחוֹמֹתַי יָד וָשֵׁם טוֹב מִבָּנִים וּמִבָּנוֹת שֵׁם עוֹלָם אֶתֶּן לוֹ אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִכָּרֵת

29

Why some rabbis disliked Mordechai - They thought the was being מחמיר at the expense of the entire Jewish People

Feb 25, 2026

32:09

Had Esther's intervention not succeeded, would Mordechai THEN bow down to Haman to save the Jews?

30

הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת זְכֹר תשפ"ו - What the is the meaning of " זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק"

Feb 25, 2026

31:34

Managing an unsolvable existential problem - the " זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק" in every generation,

31

Who exactly is הֵגֶא סְרִיס הַמֶּלֶךְ שֹׁמֵר הַנָּשִׁים? Is he a "hidden hero" of the story?

Feb 25, 2026

32:01

Who was the ממוכן who recommended הֵגֶא ? The world of varied interpretations of מגילת אסתר

32

Abarbanel on Messianism Part 1 - this historical context of the late 1490s

Feb 24, 2026

45:39

Abarbanel wrote three books on Messianic themes: a,)מַעַיְנֵי הַיְּשׁוּעָה b.) יְשׁוּעוֹת מְשִׁיחוֹ c.) מַשְׁמִיעַ יְשׁוּעָה

33

How did Mordecai & Esther know the contents of the private conversation between Haman and the King?

Feb 23, 2026

25:15

When Haman fell from power, did Mordecai gain possession of Haman's "Jeffery Epstein Files"?

34

פָּרָשַׁת תְּצַוֶּה תשפ"ו - The source of Moses' moral authority

Feb 23, 2026

23:10

Why is שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם the thing that prevents the Rebuilding of the בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ ?

35

Why did Moshe accept the עֵרוּב רַב and Mordecai the מִתְיַהֲדִים?

Feb 18, 2026

25:16

Both leaders wanted the Jews-by-birth to accept the Torah, and discerned they would be impressed by sight of the non-Jews who now embraced Judaism

36

הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת תְּרוּמָה תשפ"ו Was Shomo's Temple popular?

Feb 18, 2026

26:12

Built with forced labor, it doesn't seem to have captured the emotions of כלל ישראל. Instead, separation, במות, etc. Unlike the בַּיִת שֵׁנִי

37

Malbim on Messianism and the Messianic Era Part 2

Feb 18, 2026

41:03

Malbim's theory of the terminus post quem for the Redemption

38

The new English translation of the Classic R Yehonasan Eibeschutz sefer on Megilas Esther

Feb 17, 2026

28:33

R Menachem Tenenbaum (Cleveland) has translated the wonderful סֵפֶר יְשׁוּעָה גְּדוֹלָה (שֶׁהוּא מְלֻקָּט מִסֵּפֶר "יַעֲרוֹת דְּבַשׁ"), which contains the "Agadic Pilpul" on the Purim Story from the Gaon Y. Eibeschutz into readable English...in time for this Purim!

39

וְרַבִּים מֵעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ מִתְיַהֲדִים כִּי נָפַל פַּחַד הַיְּהוּדִים עֲלֵיהֶם - Did they actually convert?

Feb 17, 2026

32:09

Was it a wave of גֵּרֵי צֶדֶק or an avalanche of opportunists, a new עֵרוּב רַב?

40

פָּרָשַׁת תְּרוּמָה תשפ"ו - Stationary and Mobile

Feb 16, 2026

32:04

A box never to be opened, a symbol of Divine Mystery?

41

וְאֶל מֹשֶׁה אָמַר עֲלֵה אֶל יְהֹוָה - What does this actually mean?

Feb 11, 2026

25:54

"Rise intellectually and struggle to comprehend the meaning of the Tetragrammaton." Like any ideal, you cannot get there but you must strive to constantly progress in that direction"

42

הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת שְׁקָלִים תשפ"ו - Fundraising techniques 2800 years ago

Feb 10, 2026

56:07

How the King and the High Priest had to come up with a fundraising plan whereby none of the money went to the solicitors! Rather all the $$ went to the Temple Plant refurbishing campaign.

43

The Malbim on Messianism Part 1

Feb 9, 2026

56:07

Malbim calculated Mashiach would come in 1927. To be continued...

44

Genazym s offering (this Sunday!) the first edition of the classic סֵפֶר אֱמוּנוֹת וְדֵעוֹת לְרַב סְעַדְיָה גָּאוֹן (Istanbul 1562)

Feb 9, 2026

38:05

This is the book that launched (and legitimized!) the rational (non-Kabbalistic) approach to Torah and Judaism. written to rescue the religious Jew "drowning in doubt" (in the author's words)

45

הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת מִשְׁפָּטִים תשפ"וו - Facing doom but still unable to let go of their (illegally held) Hebrew slaves

Feb 9, 2026

25:40

Jeremiah: "The Destruction of Jerusalem is unstoppable, but your physical torture by the captors IS preventable, IF you do the right thing and free your Hebrew Slaves whom you are holding beyond the six years"

46

פָּרָשַׁת מִשְׁפָּטִים תשפ"ו - Saadia Gaon's remarkable in sight into the Torah's statement re: Kidnapping

Feb 8, 2026

27:00

The child who hit his father not knowing it was his father; he was kidnapped at birth!

47

Genazym is auctioning a letter from the famous Sir Moses Montefiore to the Jews of Baghdad assuring them there will be no pogrom!

Feb 8, 2026

39:15

A tale from the Victorian Era: In 1860 the Druze massacred the Christians in Lebanon, the Muslims massacred the Christians in Damascus, and now the Christians wanted to set-off massacres of the Jews there as well as in Baghdad, but Lord Palmerston & Lord Russel (thanks to Montefiore) prevented this.

48

Current Events: Ehud Barak, the Epstein tapes, and Ashkenazi Jewish Racism

Feb 8, 2026

45:33

WASP = "White (Secular) Ashkenazi with Protektsia"

49

הפטרת פרשת יתרו תשפ"ו - The Great Hall in Heaven Filled with smoke

Feb 5, 2026

23:51

a.) Smoke at Sinaib.) Smoke in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippurc.) Smoke in Heaven in Isaiah's Prophetic Vision

50

פָּרָשַׁת יִתְרוֹ 2026 - The Chronology Problem

Feb 4, 2026

25:51

If he came after the Ten Commandments, then how long after? Immediately after? After the erecting of the Mishkan?