Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

Latest Episodes:

The Establishment of Public Prayer in Judaism After the Purim Story. A Coincidence? Mar 13, 2022

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What Caused the Purim Miracle? Esther or Public Prayer?

R Shlomo Alkabetz (1505-1584). Author of the Purim Classic מָנוֹת הַלֵּוִי Mar 13, 2022

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Author of לְכָה דּוֹדִי , probably the most famous poem in Jewish history. When Safed was "white hot"

The Famous and Controversial Piyut of אָץ קוֹצֵץ, Hated by the Maskilim Mar 11, 2022

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When piyutim had to replace both קְרִיאַת הַתּוֹרָה וּקְרִיאַת הַהַפְטָרָה

The Amalekites Turning Themselves into Sheep - A Midrash? Mar 09, 2022

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King Saul, Amalek, and the intrinsic chronological limitations of rationalism

Parshas Zachor and Parshas Vayikra: Contrasting the Rhetoric in Vayikra and the Rhetoric of Samuel's Criticism of Saul Mar 09, 2022

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Did people follow the rules of וַיִּקְרָא during the period of the בָּמוֹת?

Queen Esther - Bacon or Veggies? Mar 07, 2022

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Rabbi Katz analyzes the medieval Ashkenazic Purim custom of זֵרְעוֹנִים

The Rivam (R' Yitzchak ben Mordechai) vs. Rabbeinu Tam on the Esther Story - Teacher Disproven by Student Mar 06, 2022

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A glimpse into tensions between “Yeshiva-Learning” and the venerable מִנְהַג אַשְׁכְּנַז in 12th century France and Germany

A Tosafistic History of the Use of the #15 in Prayer Mar 04, 2022

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The 15 praises in Yishtabach are Moshe's 15 words of joy and relief when his financial rectitude was publicly vindicated

Parshas Pikudei: When Moshe Spoke to G-d, Why Did He Care What All the Hockers Were Saying? Mar 03, 2022

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What did Moshe do with the surplus funds from the fundraising drive?

Why Did Shlomo Reject the Money His Father Had Amassed for Constructing the Temple? (Haftarah Pikudei) Mar 02, 2022

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What furniture from the Mishkan did Shlomo retain in the Temple?