Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

"?וְלֹא לִידֵי נִסָּיוֹן" Why Not 20.10.2021 33:33 ↓

Should a servant of Hashem my welcome נִסְיוֹנוֹת as an opportunity to show loyalty?

The War of the Four Kings: Abraham "Chills" with His Non-Jewish Friends and Reaches Prophetic Levels 18.10.2021 36:44 ↓

Does Abraham allude to a crisis of faith earlier in life in Genesis 20:13?

Nissan Back: Unusual Hasidic Pioneer of the Old Yishuv in Palestine 18.10.2021 1:15:36 ↓

Was it un-frum to move to Israel and work for a living in the 19th century?

Announcement About Rabbi Katz’ History of the State of Israel Winter Lecture Series 15.10.2021 2:04 ↓

Lectures will be in person at Shomrei Emunah on Saturday nights at 8:45 PM. Starting tomorrow night. YouTube option available

"V'LeYerushalayim Irchah": If the Messiah Showed Up Tomorrow, How Would We Act? Really (Tefillah) 14.10.2021 19:16 ↓

What does V'Chiseih Dovid Avdichah L'Sochah Tachin actually mean?

Isaiah: G-d Would Not Have Invested So Much in Abraham Unless He Meant It For the Long Term 13.10.2021 30:06 ↓

How exactly did the outnumbered Abraham defeat the forces of כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר?

Why Does Lot Resent Abraham? Family Tensions (Parshas Lech Lecha) 13.10.2021 38:16 ↓

Why is Lot zocheh to be the ancestor of the Mashiach?

The Rizhiner Rebbe: Disneyland and the Bueaucratic-Absolutist State 11.10.2021 1:25:53 ↓

The Rebbe with the largest following, who lived the lifestyle of a Reish Galusah

Announcements and Updates from Rabbi Katz 08.10.2021 6:09 ↓

Upcoming Scholar in Residence Appearances this Winter, History of the State of Israel Winter Lecture Series and Tech-Issues 

The Dispersed Jews: "Return our scattered brethren" - To whom does this refer? (Tefillah) 08.10.2021 27:23 ↓

Are the "dispersed Jews" physically exiled or psychologically alienated?

Greece (Yefes) - Ironically Blessed for Covering a Naked Body (Parshas Noach) 06.10.2021 30:18 ↓

The many ways Noah's oracle about Shem and Yafes can be translated and interpreted

The Tower of Babel - According to the Drashos HaRan 04.10.2021 36:36 ↓

The Ran seeks a logical explanation, not a midrashic approach. His remarkable reconstruction of ancient history.

General John Monash (WWI): Literally, the Greatest Jewish General You Never Heard of 04.10.2021 54:26 ↓

The best Allied general of WWI, who had a love-hate relationship with Yiddishkeit.

Parshas Noach: Noah After the Flood - A Different Form of Paradise Lost 03.10.2021 29:10 ↓

Did G-d create a perfect world? Why are things so imperfect?

Parshas Bereishis: What Does G-d Mean When He Says " Adam is Like One of Us?" 01.10.2021 28:58 ↓

Man's curiousity, though G-d-like, is dangerous, but unstoppable

The History of Simchas Torah: An Invented Holiday, Which Took-Off Like Wildfire. Why? 27.09.2021 46:17 ↓

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

The Strange History of Hoshanah Rabbah: A Lesser-Known Aspect of the Biblical Sukkos Holiday 26.09.2021 32:09 ↓

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

Ketores and Arba Minim: two types of unity, five days apart 24.09.2021 33:17 ↓

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

The Arbah Minim: How Do the Arbah Minim Defeat the Four Kingdoms of Exile? 23.09.2021 30:39 ↓

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

Chanoch ben Moshe (10th century, Spain): Torah, Brilliance, and Machlokes 20.09.2021 1:04:26 ↓

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

Sukkos: A Holiday to Be Celebrated in Israel, Yet Commemorating Galus…Strange 20.09.2021 32:48 ↓

Different types of Sukkah reflect different diaspora experiences

Yom Kippur: Why Does the Chumash Not Mention Teshuvah on Yom Kippur, Just Kapparah? 15.09.2021 28:19 ↓

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

Parshas Haazinu: Just Before He Dies, Moshe Has the Jews Memorize a Scary Poem 15.09.2021 32:19 ↓

The poem is pessimistic because it fears the Jews' narcissism

The Tashbetz: MD, PhD Gadol and Posek 13.09.2021 1:11:58 ↓

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

An Insight into a Passage in the Rambam's הִלְכוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה 10.09.2021 22:02 ↓

Explaining the parable of the penitent touching the Heavenly Throne