Behind The Times - Mishpacha

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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 - Mishpacha

Behind The Times - Mishpacha

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