Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

1101

The History of Simchas Torah: An Invented Holiday, Which Took-Off Like Wildfire. Why?

Sep 27, 2021

46:18

What does the rise of this holiday " from the bottom up" indicate about the character of the Jewish people?

1102

The Strange History of Hoshanah Rabbah: A Lesser-Known Aspect of the Biblical Sukkos Holiday

Sep 26, 2021

32:10

Was Moshe told to march around the altar long before the walls of Jericho crumbled?

1103

Ketores and Arba Minim: two types of unity, five days apart

Sep 24, 2021

33:18

Amalgamation (loss of individual identity) or cooperation? Which unity is better?

1104

The Arbah Minim: How Do the Arbah Minim Defeat the Four Kingdoms of Exile?

Sep 23, 2021

30:39

The עֲרָבָה represents those Jews who will join Gog and Magog against their own people

1105

Chanoch ben Moshe (10th century, Spain): Torah, Brilliance, and Machlokes

Sep 20, 2021

1:04:27

A famous tale of yeshiva politics, ambition, faction, but also nobility

1106

Sukkos: A Holiday to Be Celebrated in Israel, Yet Commemorating Galus…Strange

Sep 20, 2021

32:48

Different types of Sukkah reflect different diaspora experiences

1107

Yom Kippur: Why Does the Chumash Not Mention Teshuvah on Yom Kippur, Just Kapparah?

Sep 15, 2021

28:20

Does it makes sense to try to make sense out of Yom Kippur?

1108

Parshas Haazinu: Just Before He Dies, Moshe Has the Jews Memorize a Scary Poem

Sep 15, 2021

32:20

The poem is pessimistic because it fears the Jews' narcissism

1109

The Tashbetz: MD, PhD Gadol and Posek

Sep 13, 2021

1:11:58

Refugee from Spain (1391). A founder of Torah greatness in Algeria. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן צֶמַח דּוּרָאן

1110

An Insight into a Passage in the Rambam's הִלְכוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה

Sep 10, 2021

22:03

Explaining the parable of the penitent touching the Heavenly Throne

1111

Shabbos Shuva Announcement: The Relationship Between Yom Kippur and Repentance- A Short History

Sep 10, 2021

1:28

Some surprising observations

1112

Rosh HaShanah: Why is שְׁבָרִים "Male"? Why is תְּרוּעָה "Female"?

Sep 6, 2021

35:57

On the day of Creation, did G-d do נְשִׁימָה אַחַת or שְׁתֵּי נְשִׁימוֹת?

1113

Which Tekios are the Ones Which Confuse Satan? - The Baal HaMaor and The Raavad

Sep 5, 2021

32:03

A historical suggestion of the בַּעַל הַמָּאוֹר and the vituperative criticism of the Raavad

1114

Scratching Beneath the Surface of the Debate About Blowing Shofar During the Silent Amidah

Sep 3, 2021

29:24

Was blowing nine blasts originally an anti-Saducee act? Were they blown all at once?

1115

How Did Christianity Become Identified with Edom? (Haftarah Nitzavim)

Sep 2, 2021

35:06

The ibn Ezra on the first Christians. Why Does Edom Have to Be Destroyed?

1116

Parshas Nitzavim: Moses Fears That Nostalgia for Egypt May Trump 40 Years of Miracles in the Desert

Sep 1, 2021

38:41

What are the "hidden" and "revealed" things to which Moses refers?

1117

Rabbi Dr. Bernard Illowy (1814-1871): The Only Talmid Chacham in Mid-19th Century America, Other Than Rabbi Abraham Rice

Sep 1, 2021

1:21:52

Superbly educated, highly-gifted, a brilliant-success, a tragic failure

1118

The Shofar Mystery: How Did Rabbi Avahu Get the Jewish people to Change the Way They Had Always Blown Shofar?

Aug 26, 2021

39:00

Rambam says the Jews forgot how to blow shofar. How exactly does he understand this to have happened?

1119

Utopia on Steroids: The Glorious Future Predicted By the Prophet Isaiah (Haftarah Ki Savo)

Aug 25, 2021

32:03

If you could create a Utopia, what would it look like? Isaiah's?

1120

A History of the Piyutim Controversies: The Classic Debates About Adding Piyutim to the Liturgy

Aug 25, 2021

52:10

The critics of Kaliri vs. the defenders -famous Gedolim, all of them.

1121

Parshas Ki Savo: Is the Speech We Read Identical With the One Delivered By Moses? Or is It Edited?

Aug 23, 2021

37:34

Why does the end of the Tochachah describe a national psychological depression?

1122

Selichos: Its Origins and Evolution - Several Completely Different Paradigms

Aug 22, 2021

40:00

Liturgical creativity? Musical creativity? Reflections of different communities.

1123

Isaiah's Prophecy: The Childless Woman Suddenly Has Five Sets of Triplets! (Haftarah Ki Seitzei)

Aug 19, 2021

23:04

The great blessing of putting a negative past in proper perspective

1124

Elul, Pt. 2: The Ran on the Original Elul - Did the Jews Pray? Or Just Moses?

Aug 19, 2021

29:19

The Jews (some of them) began to "crack" after 30 days in the original Elul. This became Rosh HaShanah

1125

T’kah Bshofar Gadol:Shofar As Audial Wakeup Call, Flag As Visual Wakeup Call. What's the Difference?

Aug 18, 2021

30:39

Can a Jew live in Israel and still be in galus?

1126

Parshas Ki Seitzei: The Strange Law About the Captive Woman.

Aug 18, 2021

39:09

An exception to the prohibition of intermarriage (הָאַבְנֵי מִלּוּאִים)?

1127

The Maharil: " Mr. Ashkenazi Minhag"

Aug 17, 2021

56:48

The "normal"posek and friend of the victimized Jewish woman

1128

Elul, Pt.1: What Exactly Happened That Original Elul?

Aug 12, 2021

31:57

Did Moshe want new tablets? Or the magical reconstitution of the first ones?

1129

Parshas Shoftim: How Can You Raise an Army If You Let All the "Chickens" Leave?

Aug 11, 2021

34:05

The difference between"heroes" and "suckers"

1130

Will Jews Be Nostalgic for Galus When Returning to Israel in the Messianic Era? (Haftarah Shoftim)

Aug 11, 2021

34:15

Are you "drunk but not from wine"? What's YOUR addiction?

1131

רַבִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִיסֶרְלַיין בַּעַל "תרוּמַת הַדֶּשֶׁן Super charisma in the wake of holocaust

Aug 10, 2021

1:00:52

One of the greatest figures of the 15th century and afterwards. Hero-worshiped.

1132

Parshas Shoftim: Moses' Seemingly Confusing Political System

Aug 10, 2021

34:40

Is prophecy really the result of a failure of nerve (or imagination) at Sinai?

1133

Elul and the Connection Between the Arei Miklat (Tefillah)

Aug 8, 2021

29:07

 Was the Arizal referring to the time of Elul? Or to the three daily prayers of Elul?

1134

Krias Shema: The Most Demanding of Prayers?

Aug 5, 2021

35:26

Do non-Jews have to believe in one G-d the same way as the Jews?

1135

Will There Be Anti-Semitism in the Messianic Era? (Haftarah Re'eh)

Aug 5, 2021

36:35

Do the Jews have survival skills? Or is it all simply Divine Providence?

1136

Parshas Re’eh: Moses Warns Against Seeking Novel Religious Experiences

Aug 3, 2021

36:51

Does Judaism fulfill the emotional needs of everyone? If not, there are dangers out there.

1137

The Mordechai: R’ Mordecai Ben Hillel - The Greatest of the Melaktim

Aug 3, 2021

43:38

The "rest" of Tosafos and one of the most popular seforim for poskim. Martyred in the "other pogroms" - the ones that do not get much attention.

1138

Why Didn't Hashem Take the Jews to Some Safe Empty Prosperous Island, Far from Gentile Influence?

Jul 29, 2021

37:41

Are we supposed to care about the rest of the human race?

1139

Isaiah's Predictions of a Glorious Future: Zion Discovers She is Not Childless (Haftarah Eikev)

Jul 29, 2021

31:29

"I am just really good at this nechamah business. Though I had to go to a hard school to learn how to do it."

1140

Parshas Eikev: Was Moshe Responding Emotionally to the Faces and Expressions of His Audience?

Jul 28, 2021

41:13

Was the speech of Devarim a prepared and written speech? Or was it extemporaneous?

1141

Hashivah Shofteinu K’Vahrishinah: The Original Meaning, and the Current Meaning (Tefillah)

Jul 26, 2021

30:19

What courts and judges are you praying for?

1142

The Meam Loez: The First ArtScroll, Torah as Middlebrow Culture

Jul 25, 2021

59:56

When you read a sefer, who edited it?

1143

Isn’t It Out of Order?: רְאֵה נָא בְּעָנְיֵנוּ

Jul 23, 2021

32:18

Three types of גְּאוּלָּה

1144

How Much Should We Mourn After Tisha B'Av? R’ Joshua and the Extremes

Jul 22, 2021

31:47

Should the Nine Days be extended to the whole year?

1145

Nachamu Nachamu: What was the Context of This Prophecy of Isaiah’s? (Haftarah Shabbos Nachamu)

Jul 21, 2021

30:32

Holocaust survivors don't need criticism. They need comfort, if they are to rebuild

1146

Parshas VaEschanan: Why Was Moses Commanded to "Buck-Up" Joshua?

Jul 21, 2021

31:07

Which law is Moses afraid the Jews will drop once he is dead?

1147

Shlomo ibn Gabirol (11th Century): The Greatest of the Medieval Poets

Jul 19, 2021

1:14:31

Insufferable personality, wracked with pain, suffused with genius

1148

Kinnos with Rabbi Dovid Katz (2019)

Jul 17, 2021

3:54:13

Given in 2019

1149

Rabbi Katz’ Kinnos Will Be Live-streamed on Sunday Morning at 9:30am On His Youtube Channel

Jul 16, 2021

1:24

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpkvIqeauUJSqXVb7Acn5nQ/featured

1150

Why a Haftarah from Isaiah, and Not Jeremiah? (Haftarah Shabbos Chazon)

Jul 15, 2021

28:14

When did Isaiah prophecy this? What is the context?