Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

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To help support this podcast, please consider giving a tax deductible contribution here: http://support.rabbidovidkatz.com --- Rabbi Dovid Katz, PhD is lauded for his extensive knowledge of Jewish History, his engaging and insightful lecture series, and eye opening historical international tours.…

Rabbi Dovid Katz


    • Nov 20, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 40m AVG DURATION
    • 1,565 EPISODES

    4.7 from 285 ratings Listeners of Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz that love the show mention: jewish history, fascinating, thank you for sharing, incredible, knowledge, different, interesting, amazing, best, great, listen, rabbonim, minyanim, rabbi katz, r katz.


    Ivy Insights

    The Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz podcast is an absolute treasure for anyone interested in Jewish history. Rabbi Dr. Katz's extensive knowledge and unique perspective make every episode worthy of study. Even if one may disagree with certain aspects of his approach, the podcast offers a fresh way to see historical issues. It's truly amazing to witness the depth of knowledge that one person possesses, and I highly recommend this podcast to anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of Jewish history.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is Rabbi Dr. Katz's eye for detail and unmatched perspective. He has a talent for delving into historical topics and presenting them in an engaging and informative manner. His ability to connect various sources and present a cohesive narrative is truly impressive. Listening to his lectures feels like being transported back in time, as he brings these historical events to life with his expert storytelling skills.

    However, it's worth noting that there may be instances where listeners may disagree with Rabbi Dr. Katz's interpretations or conclusions. This is natural when studying history, as different scholars often have varying perspectives on certain events or figures. While Rabbi Dr. Katz provides a comprehensive understanding of Jewish history, it's important for listeners to approach the material critically and form their own interpretations based on additional research.

    In conclusion, The Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz podcast is an invaluable resource for those interested in Jewish history. Through his extensive knowledge, engaging storytelling skills, and unique perspective, Rabbi Dr. Katz provides listeners with a deep understanding of historical events and figures. While there may be room for differing interpretations, this podcast remains highly recommended for its informative and captivating content.



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    Latest episodes from Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz

    Today's Posthumous Promotion of Alfred Dreyfus to General in the French Army

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2025 47:23


    Was Alfred Dreyfus really a self-hating or self-denying assimilated Jew?

    ?הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת תּוֹלָד?וֹת תשפ"ו "אֶת עֵקֶב אָהַבְתִּי וְאֶת עֵשָׂו שָׂנֵאתִי" לָמָּה

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2025 26:15


    Quantity vs. quality in the performance of mitzvos. An age-old problem. Sigh

    Manasseh Ben Israel's (very recently translated from the Latin) "Thirty Problem Concerning מַעֲשֵׂה בְּרֵאשִׁית"

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2025 28:23


    Giving the Jewish POV of Genesis to the world of European Intellectuals in the 17th Century

    פָּרָשַׁת תּוֹלְדוֹת תשפ"ו Was Yitzchak Avinu poverty-stricken (Ibn Ezra)?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2025 26:13


    Yaakov acquires claim to Israel through purchase, a sale subsequently resented by the seller. Sounds like Jewish History in Israel 1880-1948https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    The recent 50th anniversary (November 10, 1975) of Moynihan's great speech at the UN excoriating the אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם for offcially branding Zionism as Racism

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2025 29:54


    One of the great speeches in the English language of the 20th century חֲבָל עַל דְּאָבְדִין וְלָא מִשְׁתַּכְחִיןhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Rabbi Michoel Forshlager of Baltimore: His recent yahrtzeit and some thoughts on this remarkable gadol

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2025 54:08


    Whole busloads come to Baltimore every week to pray at the kever of a person who, a short time ago, was unknown...

    הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת חַיֵּי שָׂרָה תשפ"ו Adonijah vs. Shlomo: the Background

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2025 28:01


    Was it just a case of political intrigue? Or did people sincerely distrust Nathan re: the David Bathsheba story?

    Parshas Chayei Sarah: Why does Avrohom adjure Eliezer not to take a wife from the Bnos Knaani for Yitzchok?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2025 34:32


    Abraham's visit to his relatives in אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִםhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Some thoughts on the current dispute Christian dispute between philosemites and antisemites

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2025 25:23


    It all goes back to 1657 and that strange episode of English Christian would-be missionaries who sent money to Jerusalem to save the starving Jews there.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת וַיֵּרָא תשפ"ו אֱלִישָׁע וְהַשּׁוּנַמִּית

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2025 23:12


    Elisha does not blame the death of the child on the woman's sins. "The Buck stops here!"

    Psalm 83 and the current coinciding of שִׂנְאַת יִשְׂרָאֵל on the part of the Antisemitic Christian influencers and their counterparts in the בני ישמעאל world

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2025 26:16


    כִּי הִנֵּה אוֹיְבֶיךָ יֶהֱמָיוּן וּמְשַׂנְאֶיךָ נָשְׂאוּ רֹאשׁ:ד עַל עַמְּךָ יַעֲרִימוּ סוֹד וְיִתְיָעֲצוּ עַל צְפוּנֶיךָ:ה אָמְרוּ לְכוּ וְנַכְחִידֵם מִגּוֹי וְלֹא יִזָּכֵר שֵׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹד:ו כִּי נוֹעֲצוּ לֵב יַחְדָּו עָלֶיךָ בְּרִית יִכְרֹתוּ:ז אָהֳלֵי אֱדוֹם וְיִשְׁמְעֵאלִים

    פָּרָשַׁת וְיֵרָא תשפ"ו - The Rashbam's unique take on Abraham's encounter with the Three Angels

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2025 28:27


    According to Rashbam, there is no תִּקּוּן סוֹפְרִים in this parsha!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Part 2: The Other "Hellenistic Judaism" - not the Chanukah villains

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2025 43:09


    The fight over the language of קְרִיאַת הַתּוֹרָה בְּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת

    villains chanukah hellenistic judaism
    The Current Wave of Antisemitism in Italy - My reaction to a podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2025 36:07


    Are we seeing a long-internalized resentment by Italian Catholics to the liberalized theology towards the Jews adopted by The Church in 1965?

    Part 1: The Other "Hellenistic Judaism" - not the Chanukah villains

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2025 30:10


    The other Hellenistic Judaism, not identical with Talmudic Judaism (but not un-frum) but more widespread, once upon a time .Part 1 of a 2 part serieshttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    villains chanukah hellenistic judaism
    הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת לֶךְ לְךָ תשפ"ו - Drawing inspiration from Abraham's victory over the Four Kings

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2025 24:47


    Though outnumbered, Klal Yisroel will rip through the enemy like a thresher. So do not succumb to enemy efforts to undermine your moralehttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Parshas Lech Lecha: "And he will be a wild donkey of a man..."

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2025 24:23


    Resh Lakish "Yishmael will be into kidnapping people and taking hostages"!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Abarbanel's general thoughts on the stories in Genesis: The relationship between literal and symbolic meanings of Scripture

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2025 24:02


    When did full-blown idolatry begin? AFTER the Flood. Isn't that strange?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת נֹחַ תשפ"ו "כִּי מֵי נֹחַ זֹאת לִי" - The Flood as a metonymy for Jewish suffering down the Ages...

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2025 23:31


    Just as God promised no more floods that can destroy the entire human race, so too He promises not to destroy the entire Jewish People.

    פָּרָשַׁת נֹחַ תשפ"ו - Noah and "the day after"

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2025 27:08


    Noah walked "with God," but could not get ahead of God, that is, he did not establish rules for the survivors of the Flood to ensure they would not revert to sin. IOW Noah was good but not great.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Is Donald Trump a "Second Cyrus"?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2025 27:15


    The first Cyrus was a complex figure in Jewish history. The battle of the lobbyists at the ancient Persian Court. A playbook for Qatar? https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Rabbeinu Tam and Count Henry I of Champagne (and Countess Marie)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2025 42:50


    Was Rabbeinu Tam a kind of French nobleman? Why did he practice falconry ? Why did the Count of Champagne turn to him to explain the David-Saul story?

    הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת בְּרֵאשִׁית תשפ"ו - Israel will survive (Al Aqsa) Floods and even the fires of internal strife

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2025 21:54


    Who is it that 'has eyes but does not see, ears but does not hear"?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Parshas Bereishis: The world was created for a UNITED Klal Yisroel

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2025 33:05


    In a Jewish world with unbridgeable divisions, we must be alert to divinely-sent "opportunities that pass"

    The Strage history of Hoshanah Rabbah in the Temple: TheWillow vs. the Palm Frond ( הַלּוּלָב שֶׁנִּפְרְדוּ עָלָיו)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2025 40:40


    What is the meaning of striking the ground?

    The Chasam Sofer, the Yad haMelech, and the "overused" esrog. Haredi vs. Maskilic notions of aesthetics

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 37:45


    Intra-Jewish ideological politics underneath the dry discourse of the responsa literature

    נִעֲנוּעִים: The ritual of lulav-waving and its contemporary relevance in the year 5786 (2025)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2025 25:34


    Warding-off the dangers from literally all directions. In both the personal life, and in the life of the Jewish People

    Sukkos 2025: What's with the strange ritual of פָּרֵי הַחַג?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2025 30:19


    It is not enoughto embrace monotheism. The monotheism has to include a כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל as the עַם הַנִּבְחָר (even thoughthey don't seem to fit the role)https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    Today is the (English) anniversary of the Yom Kippur War of 1973, another conflict in which Israel was surprise-attacked

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2025 33:43


    The challenge of constantly evaluating the enemy, not by his intentions, but by his capabilities!

    The Four Minim and the Wars of Sichon and Og: A Different take on the אַרְבָּעָה מִינִים

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2025 32:32


    Lulav - the spearsEsrog - the food Hadassim - the "roofs" of the foxholesAravos - dittoלְפִי שִׁיטַת הָ"רוֹקֵחַ" ב "סֻכּוֹת מַמָּשׁ"

    A Different Understanding of the Holiday of Sukkos

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2025 32:30


    It commemorates events that happened in Tishrei, not Nissan (acc. to R Akiva)

    Sukkos 2025 - The Symbolism of the sukkah under a tree

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2025 31:48


    Sukkah = Jewish Survival in Galus (Branches detached from the soil)Tree = Rootedness in the soilhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    לִשְׁכַּת הַפַּרְוָה בַּעֲבוֹדַת יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים - Who was הַפַּרְוָה? Why does the High Priest purify himself there?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2025 19:16


    Was he an Iranian spy? A Zoroastrian clergyman? A Jewish BT who repented?

    The Pros and Cons of Publicly Confessing your sins to the rest of the congregation

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2025 27:45


    The Ancient Debate and the Concerns for the Social Consequences on the Community. What if everyone did the sin?!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    מַפְטִיר יוֹנָה תשפ"ו - Compare and contrast with עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2025 26:48


    The Tragedy of Jonah after he saves Nineveh. What did he do wth the rest of his life?

    Some thoughts on the Early History of the Yom Kippur Liturgy: Eetz Yisrael in Late Antiquity

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 30:08


    Jewish religious creativity in Israel under the oppressive Christian regime of the Byzantine Empire: Piyutim!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת הַאֲזִינוּ תשפ"ו - Victory Middle Eastern Style

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 26:53


    What does complete victory look like to King David? Contrast it with Israel's current war situation.

    "פָּרָשַׁת הַאֲזִינוּ תשפ"ו "זְכֹר יְמוֹת עוֹלָם, אֲבָל בִּינוּ שְׁנוֹת דּוֹר וָדוֹר

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2025 30:16


    A historian (and the Jewish People!) must know the facts of their past, but then they must properly analyze them in order to use the knowledge correctly

    שַׁבַּת שׁוּבָה 2025 - Primordial or Mosaic?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2025 77:52


    If you don't fix your בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ, does it prevent forgiveness for the sins of בֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם?

    ?"הַפְטָרָה שַׁבַּת שׁוּבָה תשפ"ו "שׁוּבָה עַד?" אוֹ "שׁוּבָה אֶל

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2025 25:39


    One expectation from the elites, a different expectation from the masses

    Penance (not repentance!): Some famous cases in the Sefer Chasidim and Responsa of the Maharam Lublin

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2025 41:23


    The mindset of the person who soclcits the Penance from the Beis Din

    "פָּרָשַׁת וַיֵּלֶךְ תשפ"ה "הֶסְתֵּר פָּנִים

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2025 32:45


    What is the actual meaning of "הֶסְתֵּר פָּנִים"? What is the meaning of הַשְׁגָּחָה כְּלָלִית as opposed to הַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית?

    The Debate in the Mishna whether the שְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר should be מוֹצִיא the intelligent worshipers on רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה - שֶׁהוּא יוֹם הַדִּין

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2025 26:24


    Who was the first שְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר in Jewish History?

    הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת נִצָּבִים "שׁוֹשׁ אָשִׂישׂ בַּשֵּׂם" - "Delighting in God. "How is that done?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2025 28:03


    Not relief. Not gratitude. Not romantic love. Delight! Not the love of bride and groom, but the delight at the wedding. https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    The Middle East: God's chess board. R Katz discusses current events in Egypt, Israel, Yemen, and Ethiopia

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2025 28:37


    A suggested history of תְּקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר, involving the masses, the שָׂטָן, and חז"ל

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2025 34:00


    Thoughts re: the existential tension between the public and the religious elites in the Second Temple period and afterward.

    The Haredi who spied for Iran and committed sabotage on their behalf

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2025 23:31


    The disconnect between ritual practice and sound hashkafic fundamentals, particularly ahavah and achrayus for The Jewish People

    פָּרָשַׁת נִצָּבִים תשפ"ה - Trying to match the glorious prophecy with recent Jewish history

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2025 30:51


    The ingathering of the alienated Jews: the נִדָּחִים מִקְּצֵה הַשָּׁמַיִם עַד קְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

    The Shofar, the Satan, and the Rabbis: Competing dynamics in the history of Jwish Practice

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2025 34:00


    The Sages endeavored to change the shofar blowing from an anti-Satan ritual to an exprssion of sublime philosophical monotheism cum Chosen People narrative (מלכויות, זכרונותת ושופרות)

    The "shouting match" between Primie Minister Sanchez of Spain and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel: The Freudian aspects

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2025 46:30


    Bibi's father wrote THE book on the Spanish Inquisition and Spain's successful persecution of the Jews, especially the sccessful (and brutal) erasure of the Jewish Identity of the Jewsforced to convert. IOW the Spanish "Holocaust"

    הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תָּבֹא תשפ"ה - יְמוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ בְּלִי מִלְחָמָה

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2025 28:00


    Isaiah's vision of a Messianic Era characterized, not by World War III, but by a world in moral darkness turning to Klal Yisroel for Enlightenment. A pain-free Geulahhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

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