Aug 31, 2020
5. The Spanish Exiles The expulsion of the Jews from Spain, in 1492, was truly catastrophic. Thereafter, the choice of new land was limited as well. Whole regions of western Europe, including England and Wales, France and Provence, Sicily and Sardinia, and the whole Iberian peninsula, were closed to Jewish settlement....
Aug 31, 2020
4. Expulsion from Spain On May 1, 1492 (the same year Columbus set sail) an edict was promulgated expelling the Jews of Spain - and an exodus of over 100,000 Jews followed. By the end of July, not a single professing Jew was left in Spain. This was the greatest tragedy since destruction of Temple in the year 70 of...
Aug 31, 2020
3. Maimonides, Rationalists and Mystics In this episode we trace the course of the strange tale of Khazaria and uncover a profound new approach to Jewish texts, pioneered by one of the greatest personages in all of Jewish history – Maimonides. We learn of the enormous controversy that whirled around him, and the...
Aug 31, 2020
2. Karaites to Rashi In this episode we follow the course of Jewish history and culture during the Middle Ages, from the Arabian peninsula to continental Europe. We discover a "conservative," even "revolutionary" Jewish religious response to the victorious culture of Islam – Karaism. We even discover a surprising link...
Aug 31, 2020
1.Meet the Diaspora It's incredible, even unbelievable, when of people in dispersion become more numerous and more important than those in their historic homeland. Welcome to the Diaspora, which we trace from ancient times through the Middle Ages. These were troubled times, but also crucial, in defining who the Jewish...