Tachlis Media Superfeed

Once one was in possession of a destination visa, came the most challenging phase of the escape – applying for a Soviet exit visa. Applying for an exit visa from the ‘communist paradise’ was potentially requesting for a one way ticket to Siberia. Despite the risks involved, thousands of refugees applied, and miraculously received a visa. The entire process had to be funded, and refugees received f...

Avraham Byers began developing his religious beliefs at the age of 6. Raised by a Catholic mom and a Protestant dad, Avraham ultimately found his way to a completely different religious life from the one in which he was raised. This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at tachlismedia.com  

As thousands of Jewish refugees scrambled for Curacao ‘visas’ and Japanese transit visas, many others were skeptic regarding the visa scheme, while others thought it a downright dangerous maneuver. Not only were the Curacao visas dubious at best, but the very idea of applying for a Soviet exit visa was understood by many to be viewed as tantamount to criminal activity by the Soviet authorities. In...

This episode featuring Sivan Rahav-Meir was originally released in September of 2021. Rahav-Meir is a very well known Israeli lecturer, columnist, radio host, and media personality. Much of her time these days is spent covering the conflict with Hamas. We want to reprise the story of her personal journey in light of the story currently […]

The summer of 1940 brought a measure of desperation in the search for visas in order to escape the clutches of the Soviet Union. Two Dutch citizens stranded in Lithuania independently contacted the Dutch consul in Riga LPJ de Decker, in order to seek his assistance in exiting the country. With Holland itself occupied by the Nazis since the previous May, it was thought to travel to the Dutch held i...

Rabbi Asher Resnick was raised in an entirely secular home, but he ultimately became a Rabbi who spreads Torah through his many classes and writings. He also experienced a family tragedy that had a deep impact on how he connects with Judaism and teaches families how to manage grief when faced with loss and heartbreak. This […]

With the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in the summer of 1940, the search for visas to destination countries turned into a desperate endeavor for thousands of refugees who wished to escape a life under the communists. In order to execute an exit plan, one was required to be in possession of a full set of documentation attesting to every step of the intended journey. These included a passport, tran...

In this special bonus episode of Jewish History Soundbites, Dovi Safier and Seforim Chatter host Nachi Weinstein join me in discussing our article in Mishpacha Magazine about Rav Yonah ‘Minsker’, the famed Alter Mirrer who was killed by the Nazis and author of the newly republished Sefer Yonas Eilem. Our free flowing conversation covers some other topics as well.   Subscribe To Jewish History Soun...

Amy Muscoplat has an answer for what we need in times of unbelievable stress. She runs JoyFestival Industries, an organization that helps people raise their “joy quotient.” She also found her way to Torah Judaism through a long, winding road. This is her story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at […]

As thousands of refugees streamed into Vilna in the fall of 1939, a humanitarian crisis ensued, with neither local authorities nor the local Jewish community capable of providing for the throngs of refugees. The situation was especially acute for the many impoverished yeshivos who had found refuge in neutral Lithuania. Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was the revered leader of the Torah world and in his...

Conversion is a major theme woven throughout the story of Yasminah Huberman and her family. Her mother had a Conservative conversion. But, as Yasminah charted her own religious path, that led to her Orthodox conversion and a move to Israel. This is her story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at […]

In this new series launched by Jewish History Soundbites, we’ll explore the story of the escape to Shanghai from war torn Europe during the early stages of World War II. Among the thousands of Jewish refugees who obtained visas was the Mir Yeshiva. This enabled them to traverse the Soviet Union, transit through Japan and ultimately spend the war years in Shanghai. Though this story is well known,...

Liane Wakabayashi converted a trip to the other side of the world into a 30 year stay. But her journey to Jewish observance led to one more big move and her embracing Torah Judaism in Israel, the eternal Jewish homeland.  This is her story.  Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at […]

Jewish History Soundbites podcast is back after a long hiatus. Lots of great content, explorations of Jewish history and ongoing series will be posted on a consistent basis in the coming months. Stay tuned. The yahrtzeit of Rav Chaim Zanvil Abramovitz (c.1902-1995), the Ribnitzer Rebbe, is an opportunity to discuss the fascinating life and milieu of an individual who grew up in prewar Romania, sur...

Orli Katz’s Jewish journey began when she was young and her parents took on more observance. Still, she had to find her own personal path, which led her from Iowa to Miami to Israel and to New England. Her stops along the way to becoming a hypnosis therapist make for a mesmerizing saga. This is […]

Yehoshua Holstein’s path wound through the worlds of astrology, yoga, Islam, Freemasonry and, ultimately, a halachic conversion to Judaism. Yehoshua patiently and methodically found his religious connection. This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at tachlismedia.com  

Getting into and attending medical school are real challenges. Doing that while on the path to religious observance in Israel is even more challenging. But Jonathan Weiss has been up for that. This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at tachlismedia.com  

Linda Kinsberg developed strong feelings about religion in Kindergarten. Many years later, she’s proud to have many grandkids following the path she blazed toward Jewish observance. But how did she get from secular to observant and positively influence future generations?  This is her story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at […]

Have you ever dreamed of publishing a book? Bracha Goetz has accomplished that feat 42 times … and counting. But she’s more than a prolific writer. On her way to Torah Judaism, her concern for public safety and mental health has helped save lives.  This is her story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media […]

Saturday to Shabbos is celebrating its second birthday! Host Jeff Cohen and producer Gary Waleik revisit some of their favorite episodes, including pro basketball player and coach Daniel Tamir, rapper Nissim Black, former Pentecostal cleric Tova Mordechai, IT engineer Brian Silvey, lawyer and podcaster Emmett Gilles, educator Aliza Bulow, Touro University Dean Dr. Henry Abramson […]

The Jewish history of Sighet is almost synonymous with its long line of rabbis from the Teitelbaum family. This rabbinic and chassidic dynasty dominated Orthodox life of Sighet for nearly a century prior to the community’s destruction in the Holocaust.  It began with the son of the Yismach Moshe, Rav Eliezer Nisson Teitelbaum, and was later continued with his son Rav Yekusiel Yehuda, the famed Yet...

Though only settled in the 18th century and flourishing in the 19th, the town of Sighet made its mark on Jewish history and its legacy accompanies Jewish life until this very day. Nestled in the Maramaros district in Transylvania, it was sometimes in Romania, other times in Hungary and for a long time in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  By the end of the 19th century, its sizable Jewish population wa...

When’s the last time you picked up a jump rope? Elementary school? Middle school? Maybe never? But Moshe Moskowitz says it’s always a good time to do that. In fact, he’s built an entire business around the health benefits of jumping rope. He’s also managed to make the “jump” to Torah Judaism. Moshe Moskowitz fought […]

Rav Yitzchak Aryeh (Zekl Leib) Vormser, known as the Baal Shem of Michelstadt (1768-1847) was a prominent rabbi and kabbalist, who lived in Germany in the 19th century. Having studied under Rav Nosson Adler in Frankfurt, he gained renown as a ‘Baal Shem’, someone who utilized kabbalistic formulas to heal petitioners and pray for their salvation. He also had a yeshiva in Michelstadt, and authored m...

Kelsey Osgood considered herself to be an atheist. But a dangerous health situation changed her view on religion and she converted to Orthodox Judaism. Kelsey is also a well known writer on religion and cultural criticism, with a book in the works about millennial women and religious conversion.  This is her story. Saturday to Shabbos […]