Behind The Times

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Eps 24. The History Election

Oct 21, 2026

39:18

What do the 1950s battle over giyus banos, the vanished Poalei Agudat Yisrael party, and Labor Zionism in Tsarist Russia have to do with Israel's 2026 election? Join Gedalia Guttentag to uncover the hidden history behind one of the most consequential political battles in Israel's history.

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Eps 23. Operation Esrog

Sep 22, 2026

46:48

What happens when geopolitics holds up the esrog? From ancient battles to Cold War secrets, Gedalia Guttentag reveals the extraordinary story of how the arba minim made their way to Jewish hands.

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Eps 22. Selichos Surge

Sep 3, 2026

39:16

A kidnapped 10th-century Torah scholar, Novardok meets Slabodka, and a million Israelis saying Selichos — what connects them all?

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Eps 21. When the Left Was Pro-Israel

Aug 26, 2026

36:34

The Left gave birth to Israel. So how and why did the Democrats and Labour Party of old, give us Zohran Mamdani and Jeremy Corbyn? In Episode 21 of Behind the Times, Gedalia Guttentag explores how the Western Left went from supporting the creation of Israel to producing some of its Jewish state’s most vocal critics. What changed — and how did we get from there to here?

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Eps 20. Elul: How Much of Your Growth is Yours?

Aug 11, 2026

35:31

The Alter of Novardok on finding who we are really, beyond the seder, the chavrusa, and the framework.

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Eps 19. Diplomatic Quest

Jul 29, 2026

1:00:04

How did an American diplomat become a Jewish convert, a Jerusalem pioneer, and the subject of a sensational insanity

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Eps 18. A Handful of Dust

Jul 22, 2026

47:45

The tangible soil of Har Habayis tells a story of longing, and Tisha B'Av redemption.

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Eps 17. Last Lines from Lachish

Jul 1, 2026

53:09

As Nevuchsdnezzar closed in, were these the final words of a doomed commander?

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Eps. 16 Off the Rails

Jun 24, 2026

32:00

As America retreats, Israel's enemies plot to isolate it by reviving an Ottoman railway. What is the battle of trains now underway in the Middle East?

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Eps 15. Football Fever

Jun 17, 2026

38:14

The urge to kick a ball is ancient — but what did both the Talmud Yerushalmi and Rav Shach have to say about sports obsession?

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Eps 14. Back to Beaufort

Jun 9, 2026

32:32

Built by knights, seized and retaken by the IDF, what is the secret of Lebanon's Crusader castle? Join Gedalia Guttentag as he explores the history, mystery, and strategic importance of Lebanon’s famed Crusader fortress.

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Eps 13. Drone Deficit

Jun 2, 2026

32:56

After the Yom Kippur War, a collection of Israeli tinkerers and visionaries pioneered unmanned warfare - so why was the IDF caught unawares by Hezbollah's deadly drones? Gedalia Guttentag breaks it down in this week's episode.

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Eps 12. When East Met West

May 18, 2026

52:13

In the summer of 1929, two worlds met as German Orthodox rabbis journeyed across Eastern Europe’s Torah centers. Join Rabbi Efraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag as they explore an encounter that foreshadowed the Torah world that would later rise from the ashes.

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Purim: The Sequel

Apr 15, 2026

45:47

From Frankfurt to Rhodes, Jewish communities that have faced destruction and were rescued at the last minute went on to celebrate their salavation through a local Purim. Join Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag on a tour through the halachic meaning and liturgical innovations of Purim Sheini.

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A Pesach history of blood libels, from William of Norwich to Tucker Carlson

Mar 31, 2026

57:00

As claims of Jewish control over America’s president go mainstream, echoes of the medieval blood libel return. How did the Rishonim respond to the libels of their day, and what might Rav Elchonon Wasserman have said about today’s far-right resurgence?

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Eps 9. The Holiest Rothschild

Feb 10, 2026

51:19

Baron Wilhelm (Shimon Wolf) von Rothschild: a Rothschild who chose an Orthodox life, backed yeshivas, advised emperors — and met a tragic end. Rabbi Efraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag uncover his remarkable story.

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Eps 8. Khomeni's Jews

Jan 27, 2026

1:01:23

As a new Iran showdown looms, history reminds us of the devil's bargain of the 1980s as thousands of Jews fled revolutionary Iran, and hundreds of Israelis moved in to build Khomeini's army. Do Israel and America really understand the land of the ayatollahs?

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Ep. 7 The Baal Teshuva

Sep 17, 2025

47:30

In an era when intellectuals were celebrities, Dr Nathan Birnbaum was a household name across the Jewish world. When one of the most famous secular Jews of the age rediscovered Hashem, assimilationists were confounded and Orthodoxy received a shot in the arm. Rabbi Efraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag trace the impact of one of the modern era’s most famous Baalei Teshuva.

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Ep 6. Forgotten Founder

Sep 10, 2025

40:49

Ten years before Theodor Herzl attended the Dreyfus Trial, a Jewish law student from Vienna coined the term Zionism, and effectively founded the movement that Herzl later took over. But the titanic figure of Dr Nathan Birnbaum has been forgotten, because he abandoned Zionism, and underwent an odyssey that comprised Yiddish nationalism and ultimately led him to Agudas Yisroel. 90 years on, it’s clear that Nathan Birnbaum wasn’t the erratic personality that some detractors saw, but a visionary whose leadership should be remembered today.

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Ep 5: Missing Mussar

Sep 3, 2025

42:20

A century ago, Elul in the great yeshivas of Europe was soaked with the spirit of the Mussar movement, which was soon to vanish in the flames of World War Two. Rav Yisrael Salanter’s innovations preceded Freud in his focus on the subconscious, producing Torah scholars of towering genius and saintly character – yet the movement as a whole is now history. Or is it? Join Rabbi Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag as they debate the case of the missing Mussar movement.

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Ep 4: Tragedy and Teshuva

Aug 26, 2025

44:21

If Hitler’s rise brought German Jews back to shul, and 1967 to 1973 triggered the baal teshuva movement, what does October 7 mean for Jewish faith? Join Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag as they discuss the crisis of secular Jewish identity, and whether we’re witnessing a historic turning point in our millennia-long story.

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Ep. 3: The Dayan Who Faced Down Moshe Dayan

Aug 19, 2025

45:16

As public pressure mounts to draft yeshiva bochurim in the wake of a war, the Israeli defense minister meets a delegation of senior roshei yeshiva. The late 1960’s encounter between Dayan Abramsky and Moshe Dayan was a precursor to today’s headlines, and illustrates the irony of a gadol who grew to greatness without a yeshiva, becoming the yeshiva world’s strongest champion.

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Ep. 2: The Brisker Talmid Who Saved an Empire

Aug 12, 2025

43:06

In the mid-20th century, the Reform movement conquered America, yet in Britain it failed to make headway – and a key reason for that failure was a talmid of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik. Join Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag as they discuss the legendary Rav Yechezkel Abramsky’s clash with an Anglo-Jewish tycoon, Sir Herbert Samuel’s religious granddaughter, and why British rabbis were long called Reverend.

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Ep. 1: Higher Court – The Rabbis' Forgotten Battle for Gush Katif's Shuls

Aug 5, 2025

56:47

As the police phalanxes moved in to evict Gush Katif's bereaved inhabitants two decades ago, a court battle heated up that drew in major halachic authorities and the United Nations. Rabbi Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag discuss Gaza's Jewish history and the tragic struggle over its doomed shuls

Behind The Times

Behind The Times

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