Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

501

Why Abraham vs. Bilam? Why not Moshe vs. Bilam?

Jul 15, 2024

25:10

Bilam's עַיִן רָעָה: An incapacity for honest self appraisal?

502

Rabbi Katz is having a lecture series starting next week on Zionism in its early years

Jul 15, 2024

7:23

The series will explore the controversies regarding Zionism and the political and religious spheres in the early years of the movement. Seven lectures in Baltimore

503

A Dvar Torah on מסכת ברכות on the 16th Yahrtzheit of Rabbi Katz's Mother ע"ה

Jul 9, 2024

25:17

Why does Dovid say Saul is a רוֹדֵף? Isn't Saul the מלך? A מלך is not a רוֹדֵף !

504

Was Yiftach Violent and Crimes Oriented ( in his first iteration)? Or a Kid Mistreated by the ציבור?

Jul 9, 2024

31:15

Why didn't he say, "When I needed you, you didn't help me. Now that you need me,. I'm not going to help you!"

505

Pirkei Avos: What is the context of אַל תְּהִי בָז לְכָל אָדָם? Could it have involved שידוכים?

Jul 8, 2024

28:31

How was רבי צדוק מקיים the dictum אַל תִּפְרֹשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר?

506

Parshas Chukas: What EXACTLY was the sin of Moshe?

Jul 8, 2024

30:08

R’ Katz offers an entirely different explanation

507

Two famous icons of anti-religious culture: What caused them to go OTD?

Jul 7, 2024

31:18

R’ Katz analyzes two stories from a recent book on Polish Jewry as reflecting personal as well as cultural reasons for leaving Yiddishkeit

508

The “Old Haskalah” - Comfortably Nestled within Cultural Insularity

Jul 5, 2024

1:28:09

From Rabbi Katz’ 2017 Summer Lecture Series entitled: Kulturkampf-Haskalah: The Haskalah Wars - Lecture 1

509

Haftarah Korach: Do you fire a good leader because they are old?

Jun 30, 2024

25:42

The prophet Samuel's Class Act

510

How could Korach successfully challenge the bona fides of Moses? After מַתַּן תּוֹרָה!

Jun 30, 2024

30:57

Did the Korach episode really happen in פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תִּשָּׂא?

511

The Social Interaction Aspect of Piety (Pirkei Avos, Ch. 3)

Jun 30, 2024

34:00

הַכֹּל צָפוּי וְהָרְשׁוּת נְתוּנָה- An outstanding example of the difference between Ashkenaz and Sephard

512

Herzl and the British Offer to Create a State of Israel...in Africa!

Jun 27, 2024

59:31

Herzl’s unsuccessful attempts to find a country who would get the Turks to give up Palestine

513

Haftarah Shelach: The Remarkable Career of Rachav

Jun 25, 2024

23:59

What about לֹא תְחַיֶּה כָּל נְשָׁמָה?

514

Parshas Shlach and October 7th

Jun 25, 2024

29:03

Intelligence has two parts: a.) Information gathering b.) Information assessment (connecting the dots)

515

R’ Chanina Sgan Kohanim and His Conservative Political Philosophy (Avos Ch. 3)

Jun 24, 2024

31:00

Living through the horrors of Jewish anarchy, he preferred Roman tyranny with all its faults

516

Herzl, Political Zionism, and the Campus Riots, Pt. 6

Jun 20, 2024

59:29

Why was political Zionism perceived as מְטַמֵּא אֶת הַטְּהוֹרִים אֲבָל מְטַהֵר אֶת הַטְּמֵאִים?

517

Observations About Politics in the Dynasty of Hillel - Pirkei Avos, Ch. 2

Jun 18, 2024

27:32

Realistic evaluations of politics and politicians based on long experience in שְׁתַדְּלָנוּת

518

Haftarah BeHaaloscha: The prophet describes the intermarriage scandal, but in oblique language

Jun 18, 2024

25:02

To get the full picture, read the last chapters of the book of Ezra

519

Parshas BeHaaloscha: Who is חוֹבׇב exactly?

Jun 18, 2024

34:33

If Jethro's son, had he befriended Moshe when he lived with Jethro? Was חוֹבׇב turned-off by the Jews blaming the גֵּרִים for the Golden Calf?

520

An Analysis of the Current Extremely Dangerous International Situation?- Are we headed for World War

Jun 17, 2024

30:46

Russia, China, Iran, Turkey- all obsessed with recovering glorious pasts, even at the risk of nuclear war

521

The Bach: One of the Leading גדולים of the Golden Age of Polish Jewry (16th-17th Centuries)

Jun 16, 2024

1:16:23

Genazym auctioning the first edition, plus a historic תשובה בכתב יד from the ב"ח himself

522

Shavuos: Grass, Trees, and Roses. Was there vegetation at Mount sinai?

Jun 11, 2024

27:36

Do we put grass nowadays on the floors of our homes and synagogues? And who were the צֹאן וּבָקָר at Sinai?

523

Was Hashem originally planning to do מתן תורה at another location?

Jun 10, 2024

34:36

Without כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד, it would not be possible to get a collective binding נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע

524

The Rambam's Philosophical Problems with מַעֲמַד הַר סִינַי

Jun 10, 2024

37:33

The problem of trying to give a rational interpretation for what is clearly a mystical event, as Rambam himself admits

525

A Renaissance Edition of Azarya de Rossi's Controversial Book - Being Auctioned by Genazym

Jun 9, 2024

38:59

PLUS the ONLY surviving copy of the famous חֵרֶם issued by R’ Yosef Caro's בֵּית דִּין. A classic tale in Jewish history

526

Hosea tells the Jews not to turn away from Hashem and trust their "allies"

Jun 5, 2024

38:15

Those "allies" will leave כלל ישראל to die, like like someone stripped naked and left to die from thirst in the middle of the Sahara Desert

527

What was the relationship between the two luchos and the rest of the Torah?

Jun 5, 2024

30:22

Why weren't the two tablets given on the occasion of the original shavuos?

528

Theodore Herzl, Political Zionism, and the Current Campus Riots - Part 5

Jun 4, 2024

53:33

Herzl tries to avoid the fights between the frum and the anti-frum in the fin de siecle

529

Yom Yersushalyim: No country recognizes Jerusalem as legally being Israeli territory

Jun 3, 2024

45:00

A short history of the Jerusalem issue in international law

530

Hereditary Elites vs. Meritocratic Elites (Pirkei Avos, Ch. 6)

Jun 2, 2024

27:58

The 48 attributes of a scholar: Does one require all 48, or some of 48?

531

Haftarah Bechukosai: Jeremiah (לְפִי הָאַבַּרְבָּנֵאל) discusses the chemistry of הִשְׁתַּדְּלוּת and בִּטָּחוֹן

May 30, 2024

33:56

The Kingdom of Judah truly believed in the faithfulness of their Egyptian "ally"

532

Parshas Bechukosai: The תוכחה was pronounced right after the Ten Commandments

May 29, 2024

37:13

If Moshe had led them then and there (& not died in Chutz L’Aretz), they would have also conquered & settled Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria!

533

The David-Jonathan Friendship: Was it a two-way street?

May 28, 2024

27:47

Jonathan thought of the public welfare and wanted to avoid a civil war. The narcissistic Amnon threw her out and did not consider what would happen as a result of his actions.

534

Herzl and Political Zionism, Pt. 4 - Zionism's Relationship to Marxism and Frum Judaism

May 27, 2024

58:12

Herzl, Political Zionism, and Campus Riots, Pt. 4

535

The ibn Ezra: More on his particular historical context, and the time before the fall

May 27, 2024

59:19

He left Spain just in time, and translated the Sephardic literature from Arabic to Hebrew. Wrote much, but only his פירוש על התורה ּis of permanent interest

536

Lag b'Omer: When did רשב"י write the Zohar?

May 26, 2024

32:14

Before, during, or after the cave?

537

Parshas Behar: The theory that both בְּהַר בְּחֻקּוֹתַי were pronounced in פָּרָשַׁת מִשְׁפָּטִים

May 24, 2024

28:22

At the time of שבועות, the conquest of Canaan was but weeks away

538

Haftarah Behar: Jeremiah and the land deal - Preserving hope among the doomed

May 22, 2024

30:46

Buying "worthless" real estate demonstrates faith in ultimate victory and the permanent survival of כלל ישראל. It prevents יֵאוּשׁ

539

Biden: It's a good thing we have a President who grew up with the JEWISH version of the Holocaust

May 21, 2024

45:15

1945-1990: The years the Jews owned the Shoah-narrative, and got their account of it accepted by the West. The East was "muzzled"

540

R’ Akiva’s Students - When exactly did the 24,000 students die? What was the historical context?

May 21, 2024

29:01

Trying to make sense of the chronology of the life of Rabbi Akiva and the story of his students

541

The Bitter, Non-Frum Opposition to Herzl and His Proposal -Theodore Herzl, Political Zionism, Pt. 3

May 20, 2024

42:08

The Zionists were the first to assemble (or appear to assemble) representatives of all כלל ישראל to discuss the fate of כלל ישראל and seek a realistic solution

542

Gain Mastery of Hilchos Shabbos in This Online Program

May 20, 2024

3:04

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543

Haftarah Emor: Who are the people referred to strangely as הַכֹּהֲנִים ַלְּוִיִּי?

May 16, 2024

29:09

What does the אריז"ל mean when he says that in the future, כהנים will be לויים and vice versa?

544

Parshas Emor: The existential struggle against worshipping כּוֹחוֹת הַטֻּמְאָה

May 14, 2024

29:48

If G-d created טֻמְאָה, why not include it in religious rituals?

545

Israel’s PR Battle: Why is Israel doing a poor job on PR in this war? Why is Hamas beating them?

May 14, 2024

36:48

The Israeli foreign Ministry has been pulled apart by Netanyahu on political grounds, and diplomats are mostly leftists and cannot make the case for a prime minister with whom they disagree.

546

Theodore Herzl, Political Zionism and the Current Campus Riots, Pt. 2

May 13, 2024

39:43

Herzl: Sometimes arrogance, self-assuredness, and chutzpa can be positive qualities

547

R’ Sherira Gaon on Sefer Shiur Komah: Does being a rationalist preclude a belief in mysticism?

May 12, 2024

28:25

Rationalism as a check on false mysticism, but not on true mysticism

548

Unconditional Surrender in American History and Its Relevance to the Gaza War

May 8, 2024

30:39

Learning from history, but being aware of ever-changing circumstances. Appomatox vs. the Middle East

549

Rationalism in Gaonic Responsa - Generated by Empirical Evidence, and Sound Theology

May 7, 2024

29:25

Is every word in the Talmud true? Like the medicines? (רַב שְׁרִירָא גָּאוֹן)

550

Haftarah Kedoshim: The most controversial Haftarah of the year?

May 7, 2024

26:27

Telling the raw truth about our history vs. not embarrassing כלל ישראל in synagogue readings - An existential tension