What does this mean? Was it an actual historical event? A fascinating interpretation of the שְׁלָ"ה הַקָּדוֹשׁ

The medieval debate whether it resembles the sign of the cross, and the contemporary significance in light  of the current war

Is it far from Israel? Or the very opposite!

The current climate and scarcity of water was not the reality in Ancient Israel

Why are women not required to sit in sukkahs?

Are the Four Minim connected to the Fur Exiles? Or to Exile as a phenomenon?

All Jewish life, including Jews in Israel, is a sukkah-existence, fragile in structure, protected by Providence (עַנְנֵי הַכָּבוֹד)

We don't want him to be Jewish!

Israel's recent progress in this area was one of the triggers of the Oct. 7th Hamas attack

R' Katz analyzes the significance of the Jonah and Nineveh tale in its historic and mussar context

Two extremes: a.) Yom Kippur atones without repentance  b.) To atone properly, the most extreme penances are required

The remarkable letters that were found by archaeologists. What were Jews doing in the Persian army, anyway?

How Halachic literature contends with the twists and turns of fallible Human Nature

"How do we face another Yom Kippur full of forebodings ever since last year?'

Humans are unique in a.) Brains b.) Speech

Guide the masses to the correct interpretation of events. Don't leave it up to them!

The area  is full of tunnels, but the IDF has learned tunnel warfare over the course of the past year

Is it so that the Satan won't prosecute? Or is it to help you have proper concentration during Musaf Shemoneh Esrei?

The very different biographies of  Hai Gaon and Maimonides

Israel is worried about an attack on the Yomim Tovim (actually, all of us should be awake to this danger)

Until then, a "vengeance-list" is being prepared in Heaven 

Can one control one's thoughts?

A city of great Torah Learning, but also haskalah, strife, and the challenges of modernity

R' Katz speculates on the עָרוּךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן and his take on the תְּקִיעוֹת

In the Messianic era, antisemitism will cease, the Jews will be on top, and all of mankind will enjoy peace, prosperity, and enlightenment

A city of great Torah Learning, but also haskalah, strife, and the challenges of modernity

Moses is addressing the victorious soldiers of three recent wars

The Jewish People are עֲקוּרָה, uprooted from their native soil, but they will recover it!

R Katz analyzes the evolution of Rosh Hashanah over the millennia into its current universal form 

פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תֵּצֵא: זְכִירַת עֲמָלֵק בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה

Part 2

Bittersweet - A Glorious Geulah, but a depressed Jewish People scarred by their sufferings in galus

The Institutions (Monarchy, Judiciary, Priesthood) vs. Prophecy, which is individualized

When all Jews with influence (unlike today) joined together for the sake of Klal Yisroel

אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי - Is that בֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם? Or בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ?

Isaiah foresees a world without terrorism! 

What is the historical context of prayer at the time of R' Shimon bar Yochai?

The Two Mountains and Moral Clarity

The attempt to revive a Jewish "church" and why it was destined to fail when the Jews were in גלות

The strange world of the Marranos who were seriously into Kabbalah

Underconfidence, Overconfidence, and Smug Self-Righteousness

By The times of the Messiah, most Jews will have given up on Geulah

Did the "shidduch system" break down? When? Why?

R' Samson Raphael Hirsch vs. R' Chaim Brisker?

Moshe changes some of the wording to fit his audience, who were not present at the Revelation on Sinai 

The happy aspect of the Messianic Process (unlike other parts of the Bible)

What's with the references to Peor, Bais Peor and Baal Peor? The chink in the armor of Klal Yisroel

Kinnos on Tisha B'Av 2022, given by Rabbi Katz

Kinnos on Tisha B'Av 2022, given by R' Katz

They cannot penetrate our defenses unless we ourselves open a breach for them

The  pertinent observations of a Rosh Yeshiva in the City of Rome, far from "the scene of action"

When misfortune strikes, don't check your mezuzah, check your חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט!

Did Moshe harangue them in nine places? Or about their misdeeds in nine? Or in a place with nine geographical markers?

R Tarphon - Learning Torah like a businessman

Baron von Manstein and his times (Kaiser, Weimar Republic, Third Reich) 

The strange tale of Tiberius Julius Alexander, nephew of Philo, chief of staff to Titus

G-d says avenge the wrong done to Israel by Midian; Moses says avenge the wrong done to G-d by Midian

Why is it the Jews were unfaithful in times of prosperity but faithful in times of persecution?

Pirkei Avos and the language of philosophy, not Midrash

The main complainers were the "house slaves," not the plantation slaves 

Rabbi Moshe Shuvalsky and his times (chinuch)

Why is Rabbi Meirr preoccupied with לשמה?

Jeremiah, Josiah, and the misguided masses

Bilam, Pinchas, and Hamas

Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison and their impact on Jewish history

God's Fingers versus God's Hand

Why didn't Moshe respond to Bilam?

Bilam's עַיִן רָעָה: An incapacity for honest self appraisal?

The series will explore the controversies regarding Zionism and the political and religious spheres in the early years of the movement. Seven lectures in Baltimore

Why does Dovid say Saul is a רוֹדֵף? Isn't Saul the מלך? A מלך is not a רוֹדֵף !

Why didn't he say, "When I needed you, you didn't help me. Now that you need me,. I'm not going to help you!"

How was רבי צדוק מקיים the dictum אַל תִּפְרֹשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר?

R Katz offers an entirely different explanation

Rabbi Katz analyzes two stories from a recent book on Polish Jewry as reflecting personal as well as cultural reasons for leaving Yiddishkeit

From Rabbi Katz’ 2017 Summer Lecture Series entitled: Kulturkampf-Haskalah: The Haskalah Wars  - Lecture 1

The prophet Samuel's Class Act

Did the Korach episode really happen in פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תִּשָּׂא?

הַכֹּל צָפוּי וְהָרְשׁוּת נְתוּנָה- an outstanding example of the difference between ashkenaz and sephard

The British offer to create a State of Israel...in Africa!

What about לֹא תְחַיֶּה כָּל נְשָׁמָה?

Intelligence has two parts: a.) Information gathering b.) Information assessment (connecting the dots)

Living through the horrors of Jewish anarchy, he preferred Roman tyranny with all its faults

Why was political Zionism perceived as מְטַמֵּא אֶת הַטְּהוֹרִים אֲבָל מְטַהֵר אֶת הַטְּמֵאִים?

Realistic evaluations of politics and politicians based on long experience in שְׁתַדְּלָנוּת

To get the full picture, read the last chapters of the book of Ezra

If Jethro's son, had he befriended Moshe when he lived with Jethro? Was חוֹבׇב turned-off by the Jews blaming the גֵּרִים for the Golden Calf?

Russia, China, Iran, Turkey- all obsessed with recovering glorious pasts, even at the risk of nuclear war

Plus a manuscript of his famous responsum, from the ב"ח himself! From the tempestuous golden age of the Jews in poland.

Do we put grass nowadays on the floors of our homes and synagogues? And who were the צֹאן וּבָקָר at Sinai?

Without כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד, it would not be possible to get a collective binding נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע

The problem of trying to give a rational interpretation for what is clearly a mystical event, as Rambam himself admits

PLUS the ONLY surviving copy of the famous חֵרֶם issued by R Yosef Caro's בֵּית דִּין. A classic tale l in Jewish history

Those "allies" will leave כלל ישראל to die, like like someone stripped naked and left to die from thirst in the middle of the Sahara Desert

Why weren't the two tablets given on the occasion of the original shavuos?

Herzl tries to avoid the fights between the frum and the anti-frum in the fin de siecle

A short history of the Jerusalem issue in international law

The 48 attributes of a scholar: Does one require all 48, or some of 48?

The Kingdom of Judah truly believed in the faithfulness of their Egyptian "ally"

If Moshe had led them then and there (& not died in Chutz L’Aretz), they would have also conquered & settled Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria!

Jonathan thought of the public welfare and wanted to avoid a civil war. The narcissistic Amnon threw her out and did not consider what would happen as a result of his actions.

Zionism's relationship to Marxism and frum Judaism (part 1)

He left Spain just in time, and translated the Sephardic literature from Arabic to Hebrew. Wrote much, but only his פירוש על. התורה ּis of permanent interest

Before, during, or after the cave?

At the time of שבועות, the conquest of Canaan was but weeks away

Buying "worthless" real estate demonstrates faith in ultimate victory and the permanent survival of כלל ישראל. It prevents יֵאוּשׁ

1945-1990: The years the Jews owned the Shoah-narrative, and got their account of it accepted by the West. The East was "muzzled"

Trying to make sense of the chronology of the life of Rabbi Akiva and the story of his students

The Zionists were the first to assemble (or appear to assemble) representatives of all כלל ישראל to discuss the fate of כלל ישראל and seek a realistic solution

Shabbos comes about once a week, so if a person is not well-versed in its intricacies, then it is inevitable that transgressions will take place.  Here is a solution!  KinyanHilchosShabbos.com⁠ World famous Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav HaGaon Yitzchak Berkovits shlit’a used his vast knowledge to arrange all the Gemaras with the commentators on each area of Hilchos Shabbos and presented it in the form of source sheets that cover material from the Gemara until practical halacha.  This enables one to cover main opinions in each topic and gain a deep understanding of the halacha.   Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen, a close talmid of Rav Berkovits who spent eight years as a Rosh Chaburah in Rav Berkovits’s famous Jerusalem Kollel, with the Rav’s haskama, took on the monumental task of adapting the Hebrew sheets into English. The material is written with care and with great clarity, as well as including the various opinions in the contemporary practical halacha. For the past several years, Rabbi Gefen has been teaching this material to Torah learners throughout the world, on all levels of learning, and of all ages now as the founder of KinyanHilchosShabbos.com. Participants in each online chabura receive source sheets with explanations both in Hebrew and English, participate in a weekly Zoom shiur and ask questions by phone and email. Many have also successfully gained Smicha through thoroughly learning the material. The program includes a weekly Zoom shiur which is recorded and can be reviewed later, tests on the material covered to enable the individual to evaluate their understanding of the material, and availability by email or phone for questions, clarifications, or further discussions. The program includes the option of Smicha which is a wonderful source of pride for the individual’s family.  But its greatest benefit is that it will ensure that a person can lead his family to observing the laws of Shabbos with all their details.  For more information, tuition, and to receive an application visit KinyanHilchosShabbos.com.

What does the אריז"ל mean when he says that in the future, כהנים will be לויים and vice versa?

If G-d created טֻמְאָה, why not include it in religious rituals?

The Israeli foreign Ministry has been pulled apart by Netanyahu on political grounds, and diplomats are mostly leftists and cannot make the case for a prime minister with whom they disagree.

Herzl: Sometimes arrogance, self-assuredness, and chutzpa can be positive qualities

Rationalism as a check on false mysticism, but not on true mysticism

Learning from history, but being aware of ever-changing circumstances. Appomatox vs. the Middle East

Is every word in the Talmud true? Like the medicines? (רַב שְׁרִירָא גָּאוֹן)

Telling the raw truth about our history vs. not embarrassing כלל ישראל in synagogue readings: An existential tension

Kedoshim Tehiyu: It's meanderings through Jewish History

The Jews in the 19th Century - Civil rights followed by Antisemitism

"Rhetoric" as a key tool for understanding אַגָּדוֹת חַזַ"ל

If Zionism is delegitimated, then violence against it becomes legitimate, if not quote legal

Are American Jews currently undergoing a "sifting" process?

How was Aharon affected by the death of his sons?

Dedicated groups of pogromists are going around from campus to campus, and nobody is noticing

The existential tension in Judaism between the mystical and the rational

The story of Rebbi Yehudah ben Beseirah

What is the difference between מִצְרַיִם and בֵּית עֲבָדִים?

The Jews did not say נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע until after they were told about the בְּרִית בֵּין הַבְּתָרִים

How the different opinions re: בל יראה among Rishonim reflect different Jewish השקפות on the original Passover

Rambam vs. שִׁדּוּד הַמַּעֲרָכוֹת

Redemption has to be preceded by a great prophet, who will guide the Jews in that turbulent & complex era

Who won the battle between the Torah and lashon hara?

Jordan & Israel: Publicly the bitterest of enemies, privately close cooperation

Did Egypt get the "full business" on the night of Passover, or at the Red Sea?

A Dvar Torah from Lincoln's Second Inaugural

What is the meaning of the phrase "Love is blind" on Judaism?

Was he already a leper, or did he get leprosy because he kidnapped the little Jewish girl (Like Hamas!)?

This parsha is a fascinating study in human psychology

What if the Cananites (Amorites) had repented at the time of Moses, as Ninveh did later?

What if 15 million had left Egypt?

Famous responsa from R’ Moshe Provenzalo & Leone Modena

Going after Israel's "support" system. The need for Jewish counter-tactics

The Temple is a place for both a public worship experience as well as as private one

Nadav & Avihu couldn't make the adjustment from halfway-up Sinai to the Mishkan

Does Ezekiel see the Third Temple as evolving along the historical lines of the Second? Particularly the Hasmonean נָשִׂיא?

The Kashrus Laws: The difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law

On a national level, purification can come solely through repentance

Confession: 1.) Contrition 2,) Moral clarity!

Like Hitler, Hamas understands what a powerful weapon is antisemitism, which trumps all other considerations

Champion of Judaism against Catholicism & Sabbateanism, expert in the classics, and a great פּוֹסֵק

Enjoy....

Mordecai - member of Sanhedrin and general in the Persian army. Not the typical גדול!

The meaning of the phrase: the world 's existence depends on the korbanos.

Why is Saul later killed by an Amalekite?

What happens when one spouse is Orthodox and the other Reform? An "Old Baltimore" tale

Haman's spinning of the Biblical narrative to make the Jews look bad, just like Hamas propaganda today

Reading the megillah in a two-tiered fashion ( הַמֶּלֶךְ)

What provoked Schumer's speech? Do Israelis care about the USA and its interests?

R Katz suggests a chronology of the historical development of the acceptance of the holiday of Purim

Great Italiani gaon, whose rabbinical opponents tried to get him fired by his own בַּעֲלֵי בָּתִּים

Why the extra (and indeed omnipresent) cherubs and pictures of cherubs all over the Temple?

The strange history of the 71 years of הֶתֵּר הַבָּמוֹת

The bad guys are trying to change PC to say it is ok, indeed correct, to be anti-Semitic.

The first real Hebrew dictionary, dissed by jealous rivals, used by Rashi and defended by Rabbenu Tam

Solomon's pragmatism in building the Temple: Good move or bad?

The story of the three material objects: The שִׁבְרֵי לוּחוֹת רִאשׁוֹנוֹת, the עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב , and the כְּרוּבִים

What happened to the wooden box Moshe constructed for those three months?

R’ Yosef Yaabetz (1440-1508), premier Sefardi דרשן who tries to understand the Expulsion from Spain in 1492

What was the real story of the great Jewish revolt against Trajan? Who exactly were the הֲרוּגֵי לֹד?

Some Prophets are "messenger boys," others are subordinates who display initiative

Famously controversial chronicle, dissed by the historians, but beloved by the masses

Why did Moshe segregate the עֵרֶב רַב at מַתַּן תּוֹרָה? What were the consequences?

Why does the Altar have to be in an exact spot, witj no deviation?

R’ Katz explains the context of this letter and the elections to the Russian government's " Rabbinical Commission " to which R Chaim was indeed elected

The Netziv's theory of the אָרוֹן and the Menorah

1.) Private notes 2.) Manuscript given out to copy 3.) Printed books

What's better? The Zohar or Boccacio? .

What does a yeshiva study when all the Gemaras are burned? The toxic Catholic Reformation & the Babylonian Talmud

Why did both מִשְׁכָּן and בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ have such a large non-Jewish role in their construction?

God tells Moshe He doesn't need to impress anyone. The miskan is more about intimacy

Supposed to be a commentary , but is more an independent tour de force of incredible Renaissance philosophical erudition

It would have been a YU in the 16th century. In the best sense of the term

Biden and his role in Jewish history

G-d will reject the other religious groups who set up institutions on the הַר הַבַּיִת

Don't confuse keruvim with idols when you visit the Temple on שָׁלוֹשׁ רְגָלִים

A Renaissance Rabbi? Or a Rabbi who lived during the Renaissance?

Why does Yisro skip the מַעֲמַד הַר סִינַי? Wasn't he a high religious figure?

Characterized by the presence of others (מַלְאָכִים) and a smoke-filled room

Arrested by the Duke and tortured for trying to prevent a Jew from converting. It's like a novel!

When you swear by God, and then God says you don't have to keep your oath.

Two schools of thought re: the uniqueness of Moses, particularly in connection with the receiving of the Torah

Why does Moshe (and God!) indulge their truculence?

Removing עָרְלַת הַגּוּף symbolizes the drive to remove עָרְלַת הַלֵּב

A foreshadowing of Word War III on the Messianic Era. The collapse of belief systems

Rare case of "poor boy" who rose to the top of the Rabbinic and Torah world's.

A powerful Pharaoh was a necessary component of a successful יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם

Is there any reality to the gods of Egypt? How could there be?

R ‘ Malachi Cohen and his wonderful encyclopedia, a long time favorite for "cheaters '

Why is the name immediately changed to just אֶהְיֶה?

Abarbanel: Egypt will be invaded and devastated by Christians in the אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים

Did they view the mistakes of the story of Joseph & brothers as an abject lesson?

“After the Hurricane: The Struggle for Israel, 1945-1949” - Rabbi Katz’ 2011-2012 Winter Lecture Series

They imitated King Solomon's vices, but not his virtues!

What was their conception of deity, anyway, if they believed in Hashem at the same time they believed in Egyptian gods?

The effects of the galus in Egypt: similar to today?

Why did Orthodox Judaism fail so miserably in old America?

Although Leah is in מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה, it is Rachel's tomb in Bethlehem that captures the imagination of the Jewish People

Joab, to save his own life, revealed David's secret order to arrange the death of Uriah but make it look like accident

A great Gadol and Posek, also mathematician; his fame in כְּלַל Klal Yisroel came from his fundamental פֵּרוּשׁ לַחֻמָּשׁ-רַשִׁ"י

From Rabbi Katz’ 2022-2023 Winter Lecture Series entitled “Oslo, Immigration and Assassination-The State of Israel and the Jewish People, 1992-1996”

In war, there is no substitute for total victory!

From Rabbi Dr. Katz’ 2011-2012 Lecture Series: The Struggle for Israel, 1945-1949

As a result of the translation, Pharaoh freed 150,000 Jewish slaves ( Yosifon)

Is this haftarah theological or political?

Different ancient accounts of the translation of the Torah into Greek. Which stories are accurate? Different reactions: a.) Feast day b.) Fast day

How did the brothers feel now about everyone bowing to Joseph? About having tried to prevent that?!

From Rabbi Katz’ 2011-2012 Lecture Series: The Struggle for Israel, 1945-1949

When do the יָמִים נוֹרָאִים come to an end? On the last day of חֲנֻכָּה!

Why did the brothers try to kill אָסְנַת?

Hellenist mercilessness and Maccabean retaliation. They never did find common ground!

Why did a frum king tolerate זוֹנוֹת וּקְדֵשׁוֹת?

Joseph also learns discretion!

The Hasmoneans implement a "day-after" strategy

The current propaganda war against Israel & Jews is part of an existential feature of our history(Rambam)

Sifting through conflicting accounts. Welcome to the "history " of חֲנֻכָּה

"The actual נֵרוֹת חֲנֻכָּה can be מַגִּידִים עֲתִידוֹת." What does that mean?

Zechariah's vision of miraculous oil fueling the heavenly menorah. This came true in the נֵס חֲנֻכָּה

The goat theme Jacob, Joseph, Judah

The unique and weird relationship between Richard Nixon and Kissinger in retrospect

The problem with Eisav is not open entity, but treachery

Does Netanyahu & Co. have an אֵפוֹד אוּרִים וְתֻמִּים?

Whatever happened to the surviving women & children of the town of שְׁכֶם?

Is a Jewish soldier allowed to be afraid of battle?

The Pilgrims/Puritans and the rise of the modern State of Israel

King David is confident he can beat them in physical combat, but fears their prowess in spin!

The halacha was one thing. What they actually did was something else

The sin of Israel? מַחְלֹקֶת! The cure? Words of אַחְדוּת, not a discourse of פֵּרוּד

Lavan, ancestor of the Jewish People

Son of a big antisemite, JFK enjoyed overwhelming Jewish support. Both financially, as well as in votes

Their competition and respective popularity reflected the difference between elite & popular culture

Will Sinwar escape? Will Israel allow it?

The Temple is supposed to inspire repentance, not demand it

How have the two relationships played-out in history & in modern times?

Jews could not vote until modern times, but when they could, רבנים tried to influence

The angels who protect our soldiers from harm, from the terrors of dark tunnels

Team Adonijah rejected Nathan's version of the David-Bsthsheba story

Ephron (עֶפְרוֹן) the real estate speculator and the possibilities of a counterfactual history of Arabs & Jews

Iran dreams of reviving its imperial grandeur by destroying Israel. The reverse of כֹּרֶשׁ

She had previously experienced infant mortality and miscarriages

The massacre, the Booby traps, the rockets

The first case of concern for "civilian casualties?"

The screwball relationship between Egypt and the Gaza War

How the encounter between the חֲזוֹן אִי"שׁ and Ben Gurion affects the current Israeli domestic crisis

Why does it say (Psalm 79:6) אֶל הַגּוֹיִים וְלֹא עַל הַגּוֹיִים? Two groups marching currently against Israel: a.) גּוֹיִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְדָעוּךָ b.) מַמְלָכוֹת אֲשֶׁר בְּשִׁמְךָ לֹא קָרָאוּ

Israel is a worm. But worms can penetrate anywhere and destroy mighty mountains

Abraham Discovers אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל נִקְנָה בְּיִסּוּרִים

The difference between Judaism OTOH and individual Jews who propagated the faith among gentiles

How does one lure a snake off the honey jar? Gittin 56b

Hamas, North Korea, and the tunnel-strategy: the challenge for צה"ל

Why do you believe reports from the other side when you know they like lying and support killing Jews?

In Gaza, there is a limited number enemy fighters. In Lebanon, there is an endless supply לדאבוננו

From Rabbi Katz’ 2017-2018 Lecture Series on the Yom Kippur War

How do you translate כָּל לָשׁוֹן תָּקוּם אִתָּךְ לַמִּשְׁפָּט תַּרְשִׁיעִי? Re: the Arab demonizers of Israel

If sin is "norm"alized, regret becomes impossible, and life becomes irremediably rotted: הִשְׁחִית כָּל בָּשָׂר

The Jew who embraces certain progressive causes but is then disillusioned by progressive Antisemitism

Theology is a luxury pursuit. Fervent prayers ask for Theology to be cast aside in favor of pure רחמים

The relevance to the crisis in Israel is uncanny

Will other Jihadists enter the fray?

From Rabbi Katz’ 2017-2018 Lecture Series on the Yom Kippur War

Some background, and why Israel was surprised

How do secular Jews justify our claim to אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל?

From Rabbi Katz’ 2017-2018 Lecture Series on the Yom Kippur War

How you define שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת depends on how you define sukkos: עַנְנֵי הַכָּבוֹד or סֻכּוֹת מַמָּשׁ?

Many Yidden have been killed, hurt, and persecuted because of some individual's spitting

How did beating palm fronds transition to our practice of beating עֲרָבוֹת?

The remarkable story of the esrog!

Why praise the site of sacrifice?

Moses' last words on earth

What would have happened had Shlomo maintained more modest lifestyle?

Just because you were an אֶתְרוֹג last year doesn't mean you won't be an עֲרָבָה this year!

None are as Blind as Those Who Would Not See - From Rabbi Katz’ 2017-2018 Lecture Series on the Yom Kippur War

What's preferable? Something expensive that few can afford, or something inexpensive that everyone can join in?

Acc. to ילקוט שמעוני, how exactly do the frum need the non-frum?

Are the two versions of sukkos mutually compatible? Do they represent different family experiences?

The Israelis in 1973 were guilty of עֵינַיִם רָמוֹת וְעַזּוּת מֵצַח

Three שִׁיטוֹת on Less-than-total repentance

What does אלול have to do with the עגל הזהב?

Part scary kabbalistic tales, part penetrating social criticism; one of the most popular seforim in Jewish history

"Abandon your religion of sacrifices (golden calf), and try a religion of prayer!"

A frustrated Moshe Rabbeinu lets loose on Klal Yisroel, calling them every harsh name he can

Now מַלְכִיּוֹת זִכְרוֹנוֹת וְשׁוֹפָרוֹת are three sides of the Jew-G-d relationship

God sent a three-person team to lead כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל . By Deuteronomy, two are dead

Did this practice start in the 19th century in Lithuania?

When Cremona was a center of Torah, Torah printing, and Torah burning

The tour will take place on Tuesday Chol haMoed

The suffering of religious Jews at the hands of the regime and of the Jewish Communists

The same Pope who burned all the Gemaras and סִפְרֵי נִגְלֶה permitted publishing the Zohar...for nefarious reasons

Jerusalem is attacked. No one helps her, so Hashem personally intervenes and executes bloody vengeance

Although he originally demanded the Jews circumcise their own hearts, in the end he acknowledges it will have to come from G-d

Why did the חכמים prohibit the shofar on Shabbos?

Printed in the luxurious palace of Gracia Mendes' daughter in Constantinople in 1598. Gracia, Joseph Nasi, Donna Reyna, a family of exemplary Sephardic richie-riches

The חוֹלֵץ who deliberately put the shoe on the wrong foot, to prevent his "in-laws" from cheating him

Sforno decries the Jews who go to non-Jewish courts: אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים!

מַחְלֹקֶת רַאְבַ"ד וּבְעַל הַמָּאוֹר עַל פֵּרוּשׁ "עִרְבּוּב הַשָּׂטָן"

The Jewish triumph will be moral, not military. It won't have to be!

This classic was written circa 1200, and is the first of the genre of minhag-litetature, evaluating the correctness of various halachic practices

The Rema"s unique Baroque explanation of the בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְהַקָּרְבָּנוֹת.

The kohen who suddenly decided he was not a kohen (to marry a rich divorcee)

The controversial second "40 Days"

Will G-d forget? Forgive?

When a person is חוֹשֵׁק, he doesn't consider the future consequences

Has day-school enrollment in NYC plateaued? R' Katz and Gabe Aaronson analyze the latest statistics.

Wealthy enough not to be a rov or rosh yeshiva, but up there with the גְּדוֹלֵי הַדּוֹר

Which round was תְּשׁוּבָה מִיִּרְאָה , and which was תְּשׁוּבָה מֵאַהֲבָה?

From Volozhin to the JTS of Breslau to the Great Synagogue of St. Petersburg, Reform Russian style

Genuine אֱמוּנָה requires seeing נִקְמַת מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה

R,Katz distinguishes between courts who administered the justice of the original תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה and their later successors

The mammoth Aguna crisis in the aftermath of the Holocaust

Moses' Stark Admonition That Everything is Either a Blessing or a Curse; Nothing is Neutral

If the soul "reunites " with God, then we are way beyond שְׂכַר וְעֹנֶשׁ

The Arabs make peace with Israel when all other options fail...

How exactly did they later discover the site of the בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ? After all, it is not stated in the חֻמָּשׁ?

The diastrous effects of WW 1 on religiosity, and the efforts to respond to the crisis in Warsaw

What happens when two persons have the same relationship to a mitzvah?

Did the corpses of ביתר remain intact (though mutilated from battle and torture)? Or was it the skeletons which survived intact?

Why kind of a marriage does כלל ישראל have today with HaShem?

Why the strange anthropormism that Hashem was "crazy in love" with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs?

A Litvish Gadol who ends up as Dayan of the largest hasidic community in the world Part 1

The wicked are indeed destroyed, but not before they suffer torture

Moshe is describing the wonderfully flexible תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה of long ago

Luzzatto on אֲבֵלוּת לִשְׁמָהּ עַל הַחֻרְבָּן

Close with Hoover, Truman, & Eisenhower. Nemesis of Robert Oppenheimer. Helped Israel get the Atomic Bomb

The Jews can never be safe, and neither can the non-Jews , after the developments of 1939-1945

Will take place at his shul. Google Beth Abraham Baltimore for info and livestream

Isaiah punctures the self-satisfaction of Jerusalemites during the reign of Hezekiah

Do we have the original version of the חומש? Or a second (divinely-dictated) version?

How John Spargo scotched Henry Ford's antisemitic campaign 100 years ago

The Final Reward will be on Planet Earth

"Stay Way from בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב!"

What were the faults of the kohanim and the Rosh yeshivas?

Were the Jewish soldiers unaffected by their killing of children?

What is the meaning in Judaism of מִכָּאן מוֹדָעָה רַבָּה לְאוֹרָיְתָא?

The differences between the American and French Revolutions and their effects upon כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל

Did he burn A Torah physically? Or THE Torah spiritually?

His losing battle against cynicism, skepticism, and sarcasm

How does Moshe define a successful general?

The significance of the events of the 1780s

Hundreds of angels directing operations in different "rooms"

The role of culture in a society. Who gets to decide what parts of culture are important? Is it the power of ideas? The number of followers?

How the American Revolution affected the whole of כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל

When do קָרְבָּנוֹת appeal to God? When do they not?

What was Balaams pitch to Hashem? Why was it an historic moment?

When exactly was the final חומש text dictated to Moshe?

Gentile authorities had more to do with the Korachs than the Moshes

אָשָׁם תָּלוּי -אַהֲבָה אוֹ יִרְאָה?

Shmuel ha-Navi: A Class-Act

The Pope and the Church: How they viewed the Talmud

Are the masses existentially gullible?

The different הֵיכָלוֹת and their different "rewards"

Why Would a Chashuva Rov Write a History of the Turks? Could the Ottoman empire be the מַלְכוּת יִשְׁמָעֵאל, last of the Four Kingdoms, followed by מָשִׁיחַ?

What were the results of her marriage to Joshua?

The Jews were afraid of a long, unending, bloody struggle. Moshe does not address these fears.

What would YOU do if you had been stuck in your house during Corona with zero phones, internet, etc…?

Beginning the discussion on this complex matter

When the Cossacks persuaded the Poles to betray the Jews, but were themselves then betrayed & killed by the Cossacks

Judaism is about monotheism, but also about the inalienable superiority of עם ישראל, which is not so easy to "swallow "

Did all the aunts married to nephews divorce after מַתַּן תּוֹרָה ?

Wrote history books during a "covid quarantine " in Crete to keep his sanity

R’ Katz discusses the historical background of the Kabbalistic writings of the רמ"ק

Some thoughts re: The approach of הָרַב גֵּרְשׁוֹן אֵדֶלְשְׁטֵיְן זצ"ל

One of the most successful Jewish lobbyists in Washington. Friend of many Presidents

The fascinating take of the רְמָ"א בְּסֵפֶר "תּוֹרַת הָעוֹלָה on the Samson story

The famous אִגֶּרֶת רַב יִצְחָק צָרְפָתִי ת praising the Turks for their good treatment of the Jews

Crowns vs Mishkan: Two models of וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

Attempting to unravel the chronology of the week of the first Shavuos, the original זְמַן מַתַּן תּוֹרָתֵנוּ

At Sinai, they saw no image, but they did hear a voice!

Patron of the revival of Torah scholarship in Spain

Two types of נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמַע: Real and fake

Why was תהילים written davka by Ruth's grandson?

But in the end both "Husband " and "Wife" decide to preserve the "marriage" and have a second אֵרוּסִין

An exercise in pedagogy

A foreshadowing of the future history of the Jewish People in their march through history from Galus to Galus

An infinitely-more complex understanding of life after death and שָׂכָר וְעֹנֶשׁ

Original Manuscript of סֵפֶר "שָׁרְשֵׁי שֵׁמוֹת" מֵהָרֶמֶ"ז, and two original classics from the Emden-Eibeschutz fights: לֻחוֹת עֵדוּת" וְ"סֵפֶר שִׁמּוּשׁ"

He used his relationship with PM Alvaro de Luna to help his suffering fellow Jews

the Austrian Censor Carolus Fischer, the only copy the Austrian courts trusted that a Jew wouldn't lie

Israel Conegliano, a graduate of Padua, a fum Jew, physician to the highest Turkish officials, and a brilliant diplomat

The gentiles say, "Our religion was completely false." What about the Jews?

The negative effects of the lack of geographic contiguity in גלות in Jewish history

If they died every day, why didn't they repent? Why did all of them fail to modify their behavior, even as they all died?

Giustiniani and מהר"ם פדובה played commercial hardball against each other, with disaster to all

Thoughts on אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם and the Coronation in London

The "Purim of Padua (or Buda)". His סֵפֶר "פַּחַד יִצְחָק " on a pogrom, Venetian-style

Is the Rambam right that the Torah can NEVER be changed?

Crescas on Olam Haba and Love that comes from perfection, not imperfection

Why would having an Egyptian father psychologically predispose him to curse HaShem?

From the classic שֵׁבֶט יְהוּדָה, written 600 years ago

Why doesn't the חומש define the Sumum Bonum directly, explicitly, & clearly?

The Jews will be PERMANENTLY planted in Israel.

The מִצְווֹת are the ingredients; קְדוֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ is the cake

"The Rambam is responsible for the weakening of faith!"

Abarbanel's take on Isaiah 66. תּוֹכָחָה? Or יִעוּד וְנֶחָמָה?

Is the חֶלְבְּנָה the רְשָׁעִים? Or is it the בַּעֲלֵי תְּשׁוּבָה?

Will this world come to an end? Or will it be repaired and improved ?

Difference between the לָשׁוֹן הָרַע of an individual, and that of a group

His אִגֶּרֶת הַמּוּסָר calls a spade a spade. His assessment of the causes of the downfall of Spanish Jewry

Are we now in the fifth galus, or the first?

קְרִיעַת יַם סוּף vs מַעֲמַד הַר סִינַי

Fighting a two-front intellectual struggle to save Spanish Jewry: חוּץ וּפְנִים

Abrabanel shows how various aspects of Jewish suffering in Egypt were מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה

Despite grandiloquent claims, we still are in גָּלוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ, if you think about it intelligently

Different meanings of אֵין מַפְטִירִין אַחַר הַפֶּסַח אֲפִיקוֹמָן and how it bothers the Wise Son

In Egypt too there was a problematic relationship between the slaves worshipping idols, and their Patriarchs

Why does the kohen (not the sinner) eat the meat?

The goat fits better with Shmuel than with Rav. It blames the slavery on us, not the Egyptians!

Though a great Gaon, it was his sermons & speeches that "took-off" among the Jewish masses

What was it like @that first Pesach if they were just the מְנוּיִים?

The רָשָׁע actually has a good point!

What is G-d's purpose in Resurrection? What is His purpose in any miracle?

a) Idolatry b.) Social Injustice c.) Neglect of sacrifices. Bringing a קרבן means giving to God. And giving something in return allows for a relationship

The "downstairs" model replaces the "upstairs " model. Why?

A system with it's emphasis on the public manifestation of hierarchy, as reflected in differentials in seating, money and other perks

Imagine a world without war, hatred, jealousy, exploitation. Where G-d is not a matter of faith but of knowledge!

Chanaya explained our Haftarah's seeming clashes with the Chumash, but we don't have it today

Thd three month agony of Moses waiting for erecting the structure

Mizrachi hatzalah activist and his role in the escape of some Litvish Jews to Japan and Shanghai

He is a forerunner of American Jewish Orthodox sociology in the late 20th century

After the disaster of the Golden Calf, Moshe needed more futuristic knowledge

For 12 months, the soul of the departed צדיק "hangs-around" the downstairs Eden, which is an actual place

The obsession with elaborate ceremony and protocol in Gaonic culture

Falsely conflating the case of Saul and the Amelakites with Israelis and Palestinians

And the grand reconciliation on תענית אסתר. Followed by a memorable סְעוּדַת פּוּרִים

The famous chronicler of Yeshiva politics in the תְּקוּפַת הַגְּאוֹנִים 1000 years ago

Did Jews sell-themselves in an effort to escape impending death?

Overawe the masses and win them away from competing pagan temples. The masses go by externals, not by the inner (essential) realities.

How could Esther hide her identity when she had been married to Mordecai? The brilliant effect of כָּל אֻמָּה נִדְמְתָה לָהּ כְּאֻמָּתוֹ

Using mystical and (interestingly) psychological concepts to describe the suffering there

Was it really wise for Shlomo to have close (even if transactional) relations with Tyre?

If the latter, when exactly during the third set of 40 days? The significance of this issue.

Auction this Sunday, Feb. 26th. R’ Katz also discusses Purim Parody, in general.

The fights to keep the Gaonic yeshiva alive in the face of economic hardships and personality-clashes

The synagogue vs. the house minyan: בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ vs. בָּמוֹת

There's an intermediate state of existence between the physical and the metaphysical, as evidenced by the soul being inside a specific body

From the original edition of the בַּבְלִי וִירוּשַׁלְמִי in Renaissance Venice, with its strange history

But discover they are addicted to the slavery-system and forcibly repossess them, engraging Hashem

Who gets the better of whom? The lender or the borrower who becomes an עֶבֶד עִבְרִי?

Famous for his responsa, and for his controversies over halachic matters

Differs from the view of Maimonides. Olam Haba will occur here on physical earth

Stubbornness is a great crime in spirituality

A brilliant novelist who consistently "bet on the wrong horse." Atheist who learned with the Chazon Ish.

What is the meaning of נָבוֹל תִּבֹּל?

Author of famous grammar works, but also of the original "Bava Maaseh" אֵלִיָּהוּ בָּחוּר הָאַשְׁכְּנַזִּי הֲכִי גָּדוֹל בְּדִקְדּוּק

From Rabbi Katz’ Summer 2022 Lecture Series, “Fundamental Disagreement: The Maimonidean Controversies Of the Middle Ages”

Vs. עוֹלָם הַבָּא (which is indeed part of the natural world)

Was Barak right not to care about his personal glory?

You have already killed most of us!

And wrote authoritative responsa. Champion of a.) Maimonides and b.) עֲגוּנוֹת

From Rabbi Katz’ Summer 2021 Lecture Series - Fundamental Disagreement: The Maimonidean Controversies Of the Middle Ages

G-d told him to tell the whole people to shecht, but he decided to tell just the elders

Rambam's testy reply to his critics: אִגֶּרֶת תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים

Fundamental Disagreement: The Maimonidean Controversies Of the Middle (Part 5 of 7)

The controversial but complex legacy in an era that doesn't like complexities

Stay tuned for part 3, the final episode

From Rabbi Katz’ Summer 2021 Lecture Series - Fundamental Disagreement: The Maimonidean Controversies Of the Middle Ages (Part 4 of 7)

But then will have a "שִׁיבַת מִצְרַיִם." The restored Egypt will, however, be a degraded, not a great, power

What arguments would an Aaron have offered Pharaoh to persuade him?

אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק וֶאֱלּוֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב אוֹ אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב

From Rabbi Katz’ Summer 2022 Lecture Series, “Fundamental Disagreement: The Maimonidean Controversies Of the Middle Ages”

From Rabbi Katz’ Summer 2021 Lecture Series - Fundamental Disagreement: The Maimonidean Controversies Of the Middle Ages

From Rabbi Katz’ Summer 2021 Lecture Series

…due to open heart surgery and hopes to be home next week. דָּוִד הַכֹּהֵן בֵּן לֵאָה

Or letting him continue as Shlomo's rebbe, where he exercised an excellent influence.

On עֲשָׂרָה בְּטֵבֵת , we mourn, not just our political stupidity, but our inability to change

Joseph made good use of his time in prison with high Egyptian economists & administrators

Mendelssohn in his non-controversial "frum" phase. Not insular but very religious

What survives (maybe) is a certain type of נֶפֶשׁ, NOT the נְשָׁמָה! An unusual take

Where would Torah Judaism be today without translations and "cheater books" for the הָמוֹן עַם ?

Imagine if the Ten Lost Tribes are rediscovered through DNA!

Just as happened to the brothers, the whole thing got out of hand.

One may have multiple loyalties, but which loyalty trumps the others?

Rambam writes lucidly until he gets to clearly defining עוֹלָם הַבָּא, which is impossible

Live December 21, 2022

Rambam vs Ramban on the phenomenon of the כֹּהֲנִים becoming מְלָכִים

HaShem turned the world upside down to cure Joseph's psychological pain

A clash between Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews in Germany (18th century)

His military victories and defeats; his controversial political policies

Forget עוֹלָם הַבָּא for a second. What's life going to be like in a transformed עוֹלָם הַזֶּה ? What changes!

Parallels between the political situation in Israel at that time and the situation today, December 2022?

God can tolerate idolatry, but not social-injustice and miscarriage of justice

How did he change when he arrived in Egypt? His character-development

Published same year as נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיִּים , but in a different style, though same message

A remarkable passage in his poetic masterpiece כֶּתֶר מַלְכוּת

RabbiKatz describes the packed-week that will be his Jewish History tour of Israel

A classic סֵפֶר once found in every intelligent Jewish home, including leading רִאשׁוֹנִים and אַחֲרוֹנִים. Where Jews once learned the stories of Chanukah and Tisha B'Av.

It is יַעֲקֹב who is still obsessed with the deception. Not עֵשָׂו!

Not so much a מְחַדֵּשׁ, but a brilliant מְחַנֵּךְ. Taught דקדוק to generations of Jews & gentiles

Mainly about the messianic process, not what comes afterwards

The Ephraimites are angry at the דַּרְכֵי הַשֵּׁם, ever since Rachel's being displaced by Leah

Reprinted 150 times. Dozens of commentaries. Taken to heart by Ahkenazic Jewry.

First he learned the Gemara by itself, and he was always מְכַוֵּן לְפֵרוּשׁ רַשִׁ"י. Hence his מְגִנֵּי שְׁלֹמֹה

The Patriarchs lived in a time when they could occasionally "break" rules - נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיִּים

Yehoyakim and his shocking act of burning דְּבַר הַשֵּׁם to toast hot dogs

Can you know הֲלָכָה of you're ignorant of science and technology?

Aaron was able to be מְקָרֵב sinners only because בְּשָׁלוֹם וּבְמִישׁוֹר הָלַךְ. No hypocrisy

The proper way to stitch - together the various verses into a coherent narrative. From Saadia's סֵפֶר אֱמוּנוֹת וְדֵעוֹת

The Abarnanel on the mindset of Isaac. נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיִּים on that of Jacob

His Hebrew Geography book and his pioneering systematic study of the phenomenon of Midrashic literature

The Gaonim envision an imperfect State of Israel, without a בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ

Dovid destroyed his own health deliberately as an act of penance. But was this wise?

Eliezer, Besuel, and the role of the "Guardian Angel"

If Israel doesn't have a Constitution, can the SC declare a law passed by the Knesset unconstitutional?

He is her best benefactor, but he doesn't speak directly to her. She OTOH grabs him by the hand and by the feet

How does Judaism envision the Final Utopia? Introductory remarks

What was the big sin of the angels? Two schools of thought in חַזַ"ל

His sefer מַלְמַד הַתַּלְמִידִים עַל פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ loved and hated down the centuries

R Katz discusses his intellectually -exciting itinerary for his upcoming tour. Israel with his "spin"

Is your soul identical with "you"? Who exactly are YOU?

If Isaiah says אַל תִּירָא,the Jews at that time must have been terrified... of Assyria

Why are all the Biblical characters described as handsome or beautiful?

A great Gaon deposed by his own community (Damascus). A tale of the Sephardic Rabbinic elites

Rabbinical politics (in both sense of the term)

"No more floods! No more Holocausts!"

Why did Noah take the snake on the Ark? Would you?

What's with the second half re: בִּטָּחוֹן בִּגְאֻלַּת יִשְׂרָאֵל ?

How exactly are we Jews supposed to be a בְּרִית עִם וְאוֹר גּוֹיִים ?

What's the meaning of the Divine mandate that man and "snake" will attack each other's head & heels?

בַּאֲבוֹד רְשָׁעִים רִנָּה

Does הֻשְׁעֲנָה רַבָּה mean "the day of the willows?" Or "the day of the salvation"?

A 21st century original interpretation

The Reform Rabbi who claimed to be more observant on Sukkos than the Gaon Rabbi Rice

There's a difference between having no טַעַם וְרֵיחַ, and having a bad טַעַם וְרֵיחַ!

What are the "מַכּוֹת" you pray to be saved from ( if you daven אַשְׁכְּנַז)?

What day is REALLY the רִאשׁוֹן לְחֶשְׁבּוֹן עֲווֹנוֹת?

עַנְנֵי הַכָּבוֹד אוֹ סֻכּוֹת מַמָּשׁ? -Which is it

Worry less about your ritual עִנּוּיִים, and more about the actual daily עִנּוּיִים of the poor and the downtrodden

Is wealth and ease dangerous to Jews and Judaism? Chazal thought so

Analyzing Modern Jewish History in Terms of the Centrifugal vs. Centripetal Tendencies 

If four of the עִנּוּיִים are rabbinic, when were they legislated, and why?

תְּשׁוּבָה שְׁלֵמָה - that's tough!!

Problem -solving vs. the"Blame-Game"

Is it 100 shofar blasts for Mrs. Sisera? Or is it for שָׂרָה אִמֵּנוּ ?

"Physical-Union" in the political sense and in the theological

Can one successfully raise his kids to be Jewish metaphycisists?

A plea to enter the פַּרְדֵּס and not be harmed. The fruits of Torahdige meditation!

Is the person in the Mishna walking by the shul during shofar blowing an apostate seeking his brethren?

The Empire accomplished a תַּפְקִיד and then disappeared

The Agudah made such a stink, the Zionists subsequently left frum Ashkenaz Jews alone

The Noda BiYehudah's remarkable hesped for the (antisemitic) Empress Maria Theresa

If the messiah came tomorrow, would the non-frum want to move to Israel and become observant?

Parshas Ki Savo and the Spanish Inquisition

טוֹבֵל וְשֶׁרֶץ בְּיָדוֹ is also a madreiga!

The beginnings of the move to the right in Baltimore Orthodox Jewry

The בַּעַל מְחַבֵּר שׁוּ"ת תְּשׁוּבָה מֵאַהֲבָה criticizes cantors & choirs

Some hunker-down and don't feel the contempt leveled against us. Others work to end Jewish statelessness

Luzzatto's unique history of the תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה (Oral Law)

What if a king's mother is a גִּיּוֹרֶת צֶדֶק? Would that matter?

Hillel crafted the Prusbul, but put it "in the freezer" to be implemented a century later!!

Rabbi Katz analyzes the Leeser Bible, the first English translation in America

"Save us from depression and anxiety"

Gorbachev -a textbook case of לֵב שָׂרִים בְּיַד הַשֵּׁם

The fascinating competition between Bavel and medieval Eretz Yisroel for primacy

What is the meaning of לֹא בְּחִפָּזוֹן תֵּצֵאוּ?

Moses' warning re: Egypt right-after the Jews had followed a "king" back to Egypt

Clark Kent until his fifties, then Superman

From Rabbi Katz' Three Weeks Lecture Series 2022 – From Bavel to Barcelona and Fez to  Frankfurt: The Powers of Jewish Courts Throughout the Diaspora 2/6

The old-model of trying to reform Jewish misbehaviour by top-down rabbinical legislation

Written at a time when Judaism in Spain was under terrible attacks by the Church

In the Messianic Era, will there be big-givers with "dirty-money"?

Erasing memory -a two-way street

Two "Alters" and their different "yeshivish" educational philosophies and styles

Could "wokeness" be the תְּקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל ?

Will Israel be physically narrow, or culturally narrow?

The Netziv on the different styles of פְּסַק of Moses and Aaron

You can't pray for an end to national galus if you're trapped in emotional pain

His fascinating description of Hasidim and Litvaks in 1940

From the Three Weeks Lecture Series, Summer ‘22 – From Bavel to Barcelona and Fez to Frankfurt: The Powers of Jewish Courts Throughout the Diaspora, Part 1 of 6

Not national redemption from exile, but physical security from ever-present toxic antisemitism

Does God punish sinners because He is angry?

Some thoughts...

The סֵפֶר עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק on Christianity and Islam and the Jews

Ladies class Sunday at 2:00 at Rabbi Katz's shul

Hyrcanus vs. Aristobulus: the original שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם that led to the Destruction

A tale of הָרָאָבָ"ד ,הַחַתַּם סוֹפֵר ,הַנּוֹדָע בִּיהוּדָה ,וְרַב נָתָן אַדְלֶר

If the Temple was rebuilt tomorrow, would it last, in the present state of Jewish conduct?

Why was he "into" Kant?

The ritual reforms of Hezekiah were meaningless because they weren't accompanied by social reform

After killing Sichon, why did they proceed north, not west?

Which one was regarded as superior - which century?

"They know how to learn, but they don't know ME!"

Did the Jewish soldiers marry the Midianite girls?

Two recent lecture series are now on YouTube

What were the classic "history seforim" read by our ancestors?

What are you davening for, exactly, during The Three Weeks?

Rabbi Katz’ Lecture Series on Galician Jewry (Part 3of 6)

"אֶל אֵל חַי אֲרַנֵּן"- Relentless pressure by the Catholics on the Jews to convert

Why is G-d telling Jeremiah what is going to happen politically 40 years from now?

What is the scary implication of the בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב story?

Author of what may be the most often republished sefer of all time

You're not a "player" if you don't have the "Kapach Edition" of Rishonim

The details of the Roman siege

The contrast between the American Revolution and the French re: what was demanded from the Jews as the price of equality

In the era the Ashkenaz had the Crusades, the Sefardim had the Almohad persecutions

 Simcha Asaf. Part 6/7 series.

Don't insult and then compensate with a check!

Monotheism is not identical with the special אַהֲבַת הַשֵּׁם לִכְלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל

The role of a yeshiva in creating a new demography

A bitter parody of Yehudah Halevi's famous "צִיּוֹן הַלֹּא תִּשְׁאֲלִי לִשְׁלוֹם אַסִּירַיִךְ?"

His most important work, סֵפֶר הַמַּחְלוֹקוֹת, was only recently discovered, and will only increase his reputation

Yiftach, The King of Ammon, and Donald Trump

When he sticks to G-d's script, everything goes smoothly

2/6