History for the Curious - The Jewish History Podcast

For Soviet Jews, matzah represented a longing for freedom – one we take for granted. This episode tells the hidden story of those heroes who risked everything to keep Pesach alive behind the Iron Curtain, and of the global networks that brought matzah into the USSR by every means, under the watchful eyes of the NKVD.

Jewish life in the USSR was strongly policed. Starting wit...

Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai traversed Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa on behalf of his brethren in Eretz Yisrael. His missions raised vital funds, to keep the Jews from being driven out of town, whilst facing bandits, maritime disasters, and oppressive authorities along the way. With the aid of his diary, this episode gives a vivid first-hand account of his challenges, deprivation, triumphs...

Timestamps:

0:00:46 — Podcast intro

0:01:22 — Topic setup: music in Torah and L...

In the 19th century, the Herzog family supplied wine to the Emperor, while the 20th ushered in the era and risks of Prohibition in America and the profound transformation of the humble grape juice.

Contemporary technology has enabled the wine industry to flourish, yet the intricate halachos makes kosher wine production, a uniquely complex product

Tracing the journey of Wine, from Roman times and the laws of Yayin Nesech, to Lead Poisoning, wine dilution and Rashi's momentous ruling.  

Spanning medieval France, Italy's Rishonim, Provencal responsa and Egyptian challenges, the podcast reveals the halachic debate in times of evolving technology, commerce and travel.

As well as instructions for a Seder night without wine.  

Timestamps:

- 00:00:33 — Podcast intro 

- 00:01:09 —...

The Church was determined to wipe out any vestige of Judaism from Spain, any custom, any law, any practice, and thousands of Jews would pay the price.

Spain was not just one country, however; it spread to the Americas and the Indies, and the stories of individual heroism, ingenuity, and courage are breathtaking.

Timestamps:

• 0:00:01 Crypto-Judaism vs. Crusades — constant oversight in Spain  

The date of the Expulsion in 1492 is infamous. Less known or understood is the historical context that led there. How did a 1,000-year-old community lose its status and power?

The answer lies in the ferocious and sudden impact of 1391. With 100,000 conversions to Christianity, Jewish kehillos were left reeling and families were torn apart. Rebuilding became virtually impossi...

We know from both Jewish and secular sources, that 2,500 years ago the Babylonians led by Nevuchadnezar, besieged Jerusalem on this day. Two years later the Temple was destroyed. But what events led to this moment? And why was the path of the prophet Yirmiyahu's life so dangerous?  

As importantly how do we, in our days, feel a connection to the message and the narrative?

10th Teves is also designated as a day of mourning, for all ...

Chanukah is central to our Jewish Calendar and way of life, but there are many unanswered questions: Why celebrate defeat? What was the real role of Kohanim during the Second Temple? Why was this Yomtov chosen to reflect the ultimate ideal ?

Tracing the story from Alexander the Great and Shimon HaTzaddik through the corruption of the Second Temple and the rise of Hellenism, ...

Yitzchak Trebitsch was an active participant - under various names - in some of the twentieth century’s most important events: mass immigration, WWI wartime espionage, radical right-wing Germany, Chinese civil war and the Japanese invasion during WWII. But in the end he was a nobody.

His death was attributed variously to Nazi poison, Allied vengeance, Buddhist enemies, or en...

Chapters

00:00:00 ...

A wide-ranging and personal discussion with former U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, describing how his Sledgehammer of Diplomacy shattered old conventions to achieve the historic U.S. Embassy move and usher in the Abraham Accords, exploring the deeply personal balance between his religious conviction and political power in crafting high-st...