Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

701

Parshas Tazria-Metzora: What is Unique About the Leprous House?

Apr 17, 2023

25:25

Difference between the לָשׁוֹן הָרַע of an individual, and that of a group

702

Shlomo Alami's contemporary harsh criticism of Spanish Jewry in the wake of 1391

Apr 16, 2023

1:15:15

His אִגֶּרֶת הַמּוּסָר calls a spade a spade. His assessment of the causes of the downfall of Spanish Jewry

703

Crescas: Will the Moshiach be a Greater Prophet than Moshe?

Apr 10, 2023

32:21

Are we now in the fifth galus, or the first?

704

The Rambam vs Shem Tov on the Theological Significance of קְרִיעַת יַם סוּף

Apr 10, 2023

43:29

קְרִיעַת יַם סוּף vs מַעֲמַד הַר סִינַי

705

The Crisis in Spanish Jewry 1391-1492: The Shem Tovs and Their Differences

Apr 9, 2023

1:13:41

Fighting a two-front intellectual struggle to save Spanish Jewry- חוּץ וּפְנִים

706

The Abarbanel's fascinating connecting the Jewish fate in Egypt to the מְכִירַת יוֹסֵף

Apr 3, 2023

25:13

Abrabanel shows how various aspects of Jewish suffering in Egypt were מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה

707

Haggadah 2023: What Does It Mean, "The רשע Would Not Have Been Redeemed?" Many Were!

Apr 2, 2023

32:48

Despite grandiloquent claims, we still are in גָּלוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ, if you think about it intelligently

708

The colloquy between the Wise Son and his father: a Second Temple Convers

Mar 31, 2023

42:32

Different meanings of אֵין מַפְטִירִין אַחַר הַפֶּסַח אֲפִיקוֹמָן and how it bothers the Wise Son

709

Why Davka Elijah the Prophet as the Great Reconciler? (Haftarah Shabbos HaGadol)

Mar 29, 2023

31:39

In Egypt too there was a problematic relationship between the slaves worshipping idols, and their Patriarchs

710

Parshas Tzav: The Two Types of Sin Offerings: Outer and Inner

Mar 28, 2023

31:34

Why does the kohen (not the sinner) eat the meat?

711

The Korban Pesach: Why is a Goat OK? For the Original Passover in Egypt?

Mar 27, 2023

21:21

The goat fits better with Shmuel than with Rav. It blames the slavery on us, not the Egyptians!

712

The Alshich - From the Golden Age of Safed in the 16th Century

Mar 26, 2023

54:10

Though a great Gaon, it was his sermons & speeches that "took-off" among the Jewish masses

713

The Four Sons historically considered

Mar 24, 2023

37:35

What was it like @that first Pesach if they were just the מְנוּיִים?

714

Did ALL the Jews Do the Original Korban Pesach?

Mar 23, 2023

27:28

The רָשָׁע actually has a good point!

715

The Great Philosopher Chasdai Crescas on תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים

Mar 21, 2023

38:32

What is G-d's purpose in Resurrection? What is His purpose in any miracle?

716

Haftarah Vayikrah: The Three Big Sins of the First Temple Era

Mar 20, 2023

27:21

a) Idolatry b.) Social Injustice c.) Neglect of sacrifices. Bringing a קרבן means giving to God. And giving something in return allows for a relationship

717

Parshas Vayikrah: Speaking to Moshe From the אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, Not From the Adjacent Mt. Sinai

Mar 20, 2023

27:56

The "downstairs" model replaces the "upstairs " model. Why?

718

Yeshiva Politics from Nosson HaBavli: The Extreme Formality of the Yarchei Kallah - Gaonic Gossip

Mar 19, 2023

47:29

A system with it's emphasis on the public manifestation of hierarchy, as reflected in differentials in seating, money and other perks

719

Ramban on Olam Habah as a New Physical World

Mar 16, 2023

33:11

Imagine a world without war, hatred, jealousy, exploitation. Where G-d is not a matter of faith but of knowledge!

720

Haftarah Vayakhel-Pekudei: Will Korbanos and other Mitzvos Change in the Messianic Era?

Mar 14, 2023

27:46

Chanaya explained our Haftarah's seeming clashes with the Chumash, but we don't have it today

721

Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei: The Human Logistics of the Fundraising Campaign (Mishkan)

Mar 13, 2023

29:10

Thd three month agony of Moses waiting for erecting the structure

722

A Frum Cassandra: Zorach Wahrhaftig in 1939-‘40 Lithuania

Mar 13, 2023

1:32:49

Mizrachi hatzalah activist and his role in the escape of some Litvish Jews to Japan and Shanghai

723

Haftarah Ki Sisa: Elijah the Religious Radical - “If you are not frum, get out of here!”

Mar 9, 2023

26:35

He is a forerunner of American Jewish Orthodox sociology in the late 20th century

724

Parshas Ki Sisa: The Second Tablets Contained More Than the First Tablets

Mar 9, 2023

29:28

After the disaster of the Golden Calf, Moshe needed more futuristic knowledge

725

Ramban's Complicated Description of Gan Eden - The One "Downstairs" and the One "Upstairs"

Mar 8, 2023

29:57

For 12 months, the soul of the departed צדיק "hangs-around" the downstairs Eden, which is an actual place

726

Gaonic Gossip: The Famous Description of the Inaugural Ceremonies of the Reish Galusah in Baghdad

Mar 8, 2023

36:41

The obsession with elaborate ceremony and protocol in Gaonic culture

727

Rabbi Katz Responds to a Mischaracterization re: a Recent Podcast

Mar 6, 2023

5:09

Falsely conflating the case of Saul and the Amelakites with Israelis and Palestinians

728

The 7 year Machlokes Between Saadia Gaon and the Reish Galusah - Gaonic Gossip

Mar 5, 2023

34:32

And the grand reconciliation on תענית אסתר. Followed by a memorable סְעוּדַת פּוּרִים

729

Gaonic Gossip from Nasan HaBavli: The Deposition of Ukvah the Reish Galusah

Mar 3, 2023

35:29

The famous chronicler of Yeshiva politics in the תְּקוּפַת הַגְּאוֹנִים 1000 years ago

730

How Did They Know Heaven had Confirmed Purim (קִיְּמוּ לְמַעְלָה מַה שֶׁקִּבְּלוּ לְמַטָּה)?

Mar 2, 2023

43:13

Did Jews sell-themselves in an effort to escape impending death?

731

Parshas Tetzaveh: The Moreh Nevuchim's Take on the Splendid Bigdei Kehunah

Mar 1, 2023

35:02

Overawe the masses and win them away from competing pagan temples. The masses go by externals, not by the inner (essential) realities.

732

Purim: Esther’s Hidden Identity

Feb 28, 2023

34:06

How could Esther hide her identity when she had been married to Mordecai? The brilliant effect of כָּל אֻמָּה נִדְמְתָה לָהּ כְּאֻמָּתוֹ

733

The Ramban's Detailed Description of the Sinner in Gehinnom - R’ Katz Discusses

Feb 22, 2023

25:41

Using mystical and (interestingly) psychological concepts to describe the suffering there

734

Haftarah Terumah: Shlomo's Corvee was the Fulfillment of the Warning of שְׁמוּאֵל הַנָּבִיא

Feb 21, 2023

26:39

Was it really wise for Shlomo to have close (even if transactional) relations with Tyre?

735

When was the Mishkan Commanded? During the First 40 days, or During the Third 40 days?

Feb 21, 2023

25:01

If the latter, when exactly during the third set of 40 days? The significance of this issue.

736

The Controversial but Popular מַסֶּכֶת פּוּרִים (Venice 1552) from the Genazym

Feb 20, 2023

38:54

Auction this Sunday, Feb. 26th. R’ Katz also discusses Purim Parody, in general.

737

Sherira Gaon and Jewish Politics in 10th Century Babylonia

Feb 20, 2023

57:56

The fights to keep the Gaonic yeshiva alive in the face of economic hardships and personality-clashes

738

Haftarah Shekalim: Why Didn't the King Just Raise the Money for the Temple by Appealing to the Public?

Feb 17, 2023

29:00

The synagogue vs. the house minyan: בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ vs. בָּמוֹת

739

Nahmanides on Gehinnom - Sinners Do Actually Burn in a Certain Kind of Fire. It's Not an Allegory

Feb 16, 2023

30:45

There's an intermediate state of existence between the physical and the metaphysical, as evidenced by the soul being inside a specific body

740

A יְרוּשַׁלְמִי שְׁקָלִים from the Famous Bomberg ש"ס of the 1520s - For Sale at Genazym

Feb 16, 2023

53:06

From the original edition of the בַּבְלִי וִירוּשַׁלְמִי in Renaissance Venice, with its strange history

741

The unscrupulous "richie-riches" free the Hebrew slaves whom they have held too long

Feb 15, 2023

28:21

But discover they are addicted to the slavery-system and forcibly repossess them, engraging Hashem

742

The connection between the מִשְׁפָּטִים and the Yisro incident

Feb 13, 2023

31:04

Who gets the better of whom? The lender or the borrower who becomes an עֶבֶד עִבְרִי?

743

R’ Judah Mintz (1405 -1508), Who Turned Padua into the "Lakewood " of Italy

Feb 13, 2023

1:05:57

Famous for his responsa, and for his controversies over halachic matters

744

Ramban's Theory of the Sumum Bonum

Feb 10, 2023

33:20

Differs from the view of Maimonides. Olam Haba will occur here on physical earth

745

Isaiah's Vision of G-d Seated on a Throne etc. Subjective Reality vs. Objective Reality

Feb 8, 2023

30:51

Stubbornness is a great crime in spirituality

746

Chaim Grade (1910-1982): Some Thoughts About the Yiddish Novelist

Feb 8, 2023

1:00:27

A brilliant novelist who consistently "bet on the wrong horse." Atheist who learned with the Chazon Ish.

747

What exactly did Yisro mean that Moshe should be מוּל הָאֱלֹהִים ?

Feb 6, 2023

33:43

What is the meaning of נָבוֹל תִּבֹּל?

748

Eliyahu HaBachur HaAshkenazi (1470-1549)

Feb 6, 2023

1:11:24

Author of famous grammar works, but also of the original "Bava Maaseh" אֵלִיָּהוּ בָּחוּר הָאַשְׁכְּנַזִּי הֲכִי גָּדוֹל בְּדִקְדּוּק

749

The Aftermath of the Maimonidean Controversies, Lecture 7 of 7

Feb 6, 2023

1:05:18

From Rabbi Katz’ Summer 2022 Lecture Series, “Fundamental Disagreement: The Maimonidean Controversies Of the Middle Ages”

750

Rambam on Resurrection (which is not part of nature)

Feb 1, 2023

31:40

Vs. עוֹלָם הַבָּא (which is indeed part of the natural world)