Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

The Saducees: Theology? Cult? Political party? 21.05.2021 54:33 ↓

Toxic mix of religion and politics in the Second Temple era

Praying for “Peace” - What Do You Have in Mind? (Tefillah) 21.05.2021 37:56 ↓

Peace among the Jews? Mid-East? World peace? Shalom bayis?

Parshas Naso: The Adulterous Wife vs. the Hypocritical Husband 20.05.2021 33:44 ↓

Is the Sotah ceremony a one-way street?

Samson's Nezirus: Training for Espionage? (Haftarah Naso) 19.05.2021 37:24 ↓

Intermarriage and Israeli spies

The Aseres HaDibros in Epic Poem Form - A Religious and Literary Masterpiece (Tefillah) 13.05.2021 33:35 ↓

Maturely reflecting on each commandment. By one of the greatest Ashkenazic paytanim.

Parshas Bamidbar: The Flags - The Existential Struggle Between the Different Forces in Klal Yisroel 12.05.2021 39:01 ↓

What are the "flags" nowadays?

The Prophet Hosea and His Theme of "Idolatry = Marital Infidelity" (Haftarah BaMidbar) 11.05.2021 31:10 ↓

The Jews and G-d are "married," but without the option of divorce

Shavuos: Two Messages of the Book of Ruth - The Timely and the Timeless 10.05.2021 45:35 ↓

Why did the Prophet Samuel write this book?

The 3rd Paragraph of Shmoneh Esrei: Why “V’Shimchah Kadosh?” (Tefillah) 09.05.2021 33:02 ↓

Can God have a "name?

Rabbi M. Cahn of Fulda, Imperial Germany: Torah Im Derech Eretz in Action and a Lobbyist Supreme 09.05.2021 1:31:40 ↓

The unbelievably busy schedule of a Rav in Germany in the Kaiser's era

Shavuos: Was Matan Torah Experienced as an Uplifting, or as a Depressing, Event? 06.05.2021 31:42 ↓

The scary nature of the Torah Sh’Baal Peh

Performing a Real-Estate Deal on the Titanic - Jeremiah Ch. 32 (Haftarah Behar-Bechukosai) 06.05.2021 29:26 ↓

The haftarah is a small fragment of the larger story. Look it up!

The Tchebiner Rav: The Greatness of the Galitzianers - Really 05.05.2021 1:32:49 ↓

The days of Torah glory (Franz Josef) to the Churban, to Medinat Yisrael and the new Torah world

Parshas Behar-Bechukosai: The Tochachah - The Fate of the Survivors, the Nisharim. 04.05.2021 36:45 ↓

Why was there a Second Temple? Why is there a State of Israel?

Shavuos: Zman Matan Torasainu or Zman Matan Aseres Hadibros? 03.05.2021 40:05 ↓

The historical origins of the Azharos

The Second Brachah of Shemonah Esrei: Why Did They Make It All About Resurrection? (Tefillah) 02.05.2021 47:56 ↓

Is it resurrection? Or immortality of the soul?

Lag B’Omer: R Akiva Teaching R’ Shimon bar Yochai After His Students Perished? 28.04.2021 37:39 ↓

The change in the Israeli yeshiva culture as a result of the 24,000 deaths

The Passage in Ezekiel That Almost Got the Book Banned (Haftarah Emor) 28.04.2021 41:42 ↓

Kiddush Rishon in the Beis HaMikdash?!

The First Three Paragraphs of the Shemonah Esrei 26.04.2021 42:10 ↓

Do you start with reason, or with family history?

Parshas Emor: The Kohen vs. the Talmid Chacham. Two Different Models of Elitism 26.04.2021 39:48 ↓

Why should a mere physical blemish prevent a righteous kohen from serving?

Orobio de Castro: The Marrano Champion of Judaism 25.04.2021 59:16 ↓

The man who battled both the Inquisition and Spinoza

Henry Morgenthau: An Assimilated Jew Encounters His Jewish Identity in the Crucible of the Shoah 23.04.2021 1:56:51 ↓

The unusual relationship between Morgenthau, FDR, and the terrible fate of the Jews in WWII

Amos Tells the Jews They Could Lose Israel Very Easily (Haftarah Acharei Mos-Kedoshim) 21.04.2021 30:22 ↓

The difference between Klal Yisroel and the individual Bar Yisroel in terms of Divine Grace and survival

The Chaotic World of Unregulated Synagogues in the Second Temple Era (Tefillah) 21.04.2021 40:13 ↓

And the turning point represented by the Destruction of the Bais HaMikdash

Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim: What is the Precise Meaning of “Kedoshim Tihiyu?” 20.04.2021 43:04 ↓

How can you tell if someone's chumrah results in his fulfilling “Kedoshim Tihiyu?”