The Jewish Story

In this episode, we meet two new Jewish communities, and explore the Jewish literary traditions of Spain and the western Muslim Empire.

In this episode, we explore Jewish life in the Muslim Empire during the late first millennium.

In this episode, we survey the Jewish Diaspora, and meet a brand new religion that would sweep the ancient world.

In this episode, we follow the rise of Christianity from a small prophetic following to a massive religion encompassing the entire Roman Empire, and we see its effect on the surrounding Jewish population.

In this episode, we explore the aftermath of the First Roman-Jewish War, and watch two distinct Jewish communities form in Judea and Mesopotamia.

In this episode, we recap the first 1300 years of Jewish history, from the exodus from Egypt to the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

In this episode, I sit down with Sherry Wolfe-Elazar, a Jewish educator (and my former elementary school teacher) to discuss the Greek and Roman periods of Jewish history, and what lessons modern-day Jews can learn from the past.

In this episode, we follow Herod the Great's rise to power, watch Judea devolve into chaos under the rule of successively unstable Roman Emperors, and witness a climactic and devastating showdown between the Jews and their Roman occupiers.

In this episode, we follow the rise and fall of the Hasmonean dynasty, and our Jewish story becomes enmeshed with Roman history.

In this episode, we watch the Ptolemies and Seleucids battle over control of Israel, follow the intrigue of Jewish elites fighting for the position of High Priest, hear of the brutal Greek repression of Jewish practice, and see the rise of a rebellion.

In this episode, Rabbi Matthew Leibl and I sit down to discuss the first eight centuries of Jewish history, and their relevance to modern Jewish life.

In this episode, we follow the parallel paths of Jews after the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem. A temple is destroyed, a city is rebuilt, and the first public Torah reading is performed.

In this episode, we discuss the earliest evidence of Jewish existence, and follow the Jewish Kingdom from its inception through its various conflicts with neighbouring Empires, culminating in the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple.

Welcome to The Jewish Story! In this brief introductory episode, I introduce myself, give some background on this podcast, lay out a roadmap for Season One, and describe my primary sources for this history.