Tachlis Media Superfeed

Emmett Gilles worked two stints as a judicial law clerk for Federal judges. His long academic career, intertwined with a return to Torah Judaism, has led him to New Haven, Connecticut, where he’s raising a family, and where he’ll pursue law, and where he hopes to create a very special sort of spiritual center.  This […]

The Jewish world of the 18th century was at the nexus of internal and external transformative events which would lead into the modern era. Political changes included the effects of the Seven Years War in central Europe and the partitions of Poland to the east. Internal Jewish disputes such as the Get of Kleves and the Rav Emden Rav Eybeschutz controversy, were accompanied by the challenges present...

Sal Litvak is a film director. But he’s also known as “The Accidental Talmudist.” Sal and his wife Nina share Jewish wisdom, humor, and music online with over one million followers. His weekly live show reaches viewers in over 70 countries. And, despite the title of his website and podcast, it’s no accident that his […]

Describing Jill Moray Reichman as “multi-talented” might be an understatement. She’s a voice actor, stand-up comedian, stage, film, and television actor, singer, healer, and writer. She’s had a lot of gigs over the years. But adding Torah Judaism to that broad mix is a major accomplishment on her resume.  This is her story. Saturday to […]

Rav Levi Yitzchak Schneerson (1878-1944), father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson, served as rabbi in Yekaterinoslav in the Soviet Union. As he valiantly attempted to maintain traditional Jewish life under increasingly challenging conditions under the communist regime, he succeeded in opening a mikva, baking matzos, answered halachic queries, collected charity and distribute...

In August of 2021, in partnership with the OU, Saturday to Shabbos was launched. The goal was, and is, to present real-life stories of people from diverse backgrounds, people who’ve transcended the circumstances of their birth to embrace Torah Judaism. On this week’s special episode, host Jeff Cohen and producer Gary Waleik revisit some of […]

Though change is generally a gradual process through history, it’s worth noting how several momentous events which were indicators of a dynamic Jewish community all occurred during the year 1897. The first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, the founding of the socialist Bund political party in Vilna, the Pulmoss Hamussar in Lithuania and the founding of the Tomchei Temimim Yeshiva of Chabad i...

For years, Rachel Moore has led Moore Connected Communications, her own public relations, social media and communications firm that helps Israeli and North American clients share their voices with the world. But that’s just one piece of her story. She’s worked for over 20 years in the PR world, including with Aish and many other […]

The Slovakian Working Group was likely the most heroic attempt at Jewish rescue during the Holocaust. Dealing directly with the SS and their Slovak collaborators, members of the Working Group bribed the perpetrators, smuggled goods and Jews across borders and disseminated information regarding the development of the Final Solution to Switzerland and Hungary. Representing the full gamut of Slovakia...

Rabbi Mark Wildes and his wife Jill co-founded Manhattan Jewish Experience, or MJE, more than 20 years ago. What started as a beginner’s Hebrew class with 18 attendees has blossomed into an organization that today draws in over 20,000 annual attendees to classes, events, Shabbos meals, and more. Rabbi Wildes was a lawyer and pulpit […]

Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer (1870-1953) was a great Torah leader of the 20th century, whose life story spanned eras and continents. As a young teenager he studied in the vaunted Volozhin Yeshiva, then married into the prestigious Frank family of Kovno, where he subsequently was appointed rosh yeshiva of Slabodka. This was followed by his departure for Slutzk where he remained as rosh yeshiva and late...

Liat Mayerfeld co-founded Kii, an organization committed to promoting Jewish life for young professionals living in New York, with her husband Rabbi Moshe Mayerfeld, who we featured last March. But there’s even more to their story than he told us back in March.  This is her continuation of the story.    Saturday to Shabbos is […]

Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer (1870-1953) was a great Torah leader of the 20th century, whose life story spanned eras and continents. As a young teenager he studied in the vaunted Volozhin Yeshiva, then married into the prestigious Frank family of Kovno, where he subsequently was appointed rosh yeshiva of Slabodka. This was followed by his departure for Slutzk where he remained as rosh yeshiva and late...

The name “Gary Waleik” might ring a bell for Saturday to Shabbos listeners; he’s mentioned every week in the credits. That’s because he produces Saturday to Shabbos. His life path has led him through rock and roll venues throughout North America and Europe, one of the country’s biggest NPR stations and to Torah observance. He […]

Within the framework of Operation Reinhard, the Nazi extermination of Polish Jewry, the SS built three death camps in Eastern Poland - Belzec, Treblinka & Sobibor. The latter was the smallest of the three, and a quarter of a million primarily Polish and Dutch Jews were killed in its gas chambers during its year and a half of existence. It was at Sobibor that on October 14, 1943 a great prisone...

On the night of September 26, 1943 232 Jews escaped through a tunnel from the Novogrudok Ghetto. Nearly 170 survived, primarily by joining the Bielski partisans who operated nearby in the Naliboki forest. This was likely the greatest escape in Nazi occupied Europe throughout the entire war and Holocaust. The tenacity and courage of the last Jews of the Novogrudok ghetto to dig a 250 meter tunnel l...

Sari Koptinikoff spent years teaching kids of all ages in the classroom. Now, through ThatJewishMoment.com, Sari devotes her time to creating new and interesting ways to educate and inspire kids, teens, and grownups on the joys and richness of Judaism. She’s helping countless people live as proud Jews.    This is her story.   Saturday […]

Rav Simcha Bunim Alter (1898-1992), the Lev Simcha of Ger, was a leader during a time period of growth and consolidation. Having grown up in Poland and emerged as a great Torah scholar, he moved to Palestine in 1934, and then returned to Poland shortly before the war and was a crucial player in facilitating his father’s escape from the Nazi inferno. Upon his older brother the Bais Yisrael’s assumi...

Mark Schiff is a comedian, actor, writer and the host of his own podcast, You Don’t Know Schiff. He’s spent years headlining all the major comedy clubs and casinos around the U.S. and all around the world. He’s also toured extensively with his close friend Jerry Seinfeld. He was raised in a somewhat observant Jewish […]

Jewish History Soundbites is proud to launch a special series entitled ‘Jewish Saviors of the Holocaust’. It will explore the narratives of Jews under Nazi occupation risking their lives to save others during the Holocaust. Each unique profile will explore another story, angle and individual (or group of individuals) who though their own lives were at risk still did everything in their power to sa...

Lisa Aiken is a clinical psychologist who’s worked for nearly 40 years in New York City and Jerusalem. She’s also a licensed Israeli tour guide, a sought after speaker on Jewish topics and the author of 13 books, including the Baal Teshuva Survival Guide. She’s spoken in more than 200 cities worldwide.    This is […]

Prague has had its fair share of characters throughout its storied history, yet Shlomo Yehuda Rapoport (1790-1867) or Shir as he was known was definitely one of the more interesting ones. Born into a rabbinic family in Lvov, Shir married the daughter of Rav Aryeh Leib Heller, the author of the Ketzos Hachoshen. Though he remained a scholarly, observant and rabbinic Jew for the remainder of his lif...

Jeff Pavel grew up in Ukraine before moving to the United States. There, he experienced anti-Semitism from a very young age. But he has a fascinating perspective on the country, which he says has changed over the last 50 years. He also became Jewishly observant along the way.   This is his story. Saturday to […]

Perhaps the most acclaimed leader of Russian Jewry of the 19th century was Rav Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor (1817-1896). A long-time Rabbi of Kovno, his impact reached the far reaches of the Russian Empire and beyond. He served as the leading posek in all halachic matters, the arbiter of many disputes and lent his name to diverse causes such as the Kovno Persushim Kollel and Chovevei Zion. Exhibiting...

When she was young, Rachel Hulen never knew the power of asking Hashem directly for help through prayer. She also didn’t know her path to Jewish observance would involve marrying her husband, who first converted according to Reform guidelines. But after stops in Detroit, Miami, and Houston, Rachel and her husband made their way to […]