Jewish History with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz
Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz
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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.
Follow him weekly. New content released each week, including Personalities in Jewish History, Insights into Tefillah and Perspectives on the Haftarah and Parshah. Sponsorships of podcasts are available. He can be reached at the following email: rabbidkatz@gmail.com.
https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz
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.
Follow him weekly. New content released each week, including Personalities in Jewish History, Insights into Tefillah and Perspectives on the Haftarah and Parshah. Sponsorships of podcasts are available. He can be reached at the following email: rabbidkatz@gmail.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 9, 2026 • 26min
פָּרָשַׁת וַיַּקְהֵל-פְּקוּדֵי תשפ"ו The Contrast between the מִשְׁכָּן-idea and the שַׁבָּת-idea
Shabbos - God the Creator of literally everything, hence beyond transcendentMishkan- God something that has a "presence" (שְׁכִינָה), hence somehow immanent
Mar 8, 2026 • 1h 2min
Abarbanel on Messianism Part 2. R Katz gives a historical introduction to Abarbanel's יְשׁוּעוֹת מְשִׁיחוֹ" עַל מַאַמׇרֵי חֲזַ"ל בְּסִפְרוּת הַתַּלְמוּד”
Abarbanel burns with indignation at the falsehoods to which the Jews had been subject at the Disputation of Tortosa (1413) and the hostile misrepresentations of Aggadah in Raymond Martini's infamous 'Pugio Fidei" cynically hurled at them
Mar 6, 2026 • 24min
הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת פָּרָה תשפ"ו - The Red Cow as a Historiosophical Mystical Reality
That which becomes impure can be made pure again; a nation that becomes homeless can regain their home
Mar 4, 2026 • 31min
פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תִּשָּׂא תשפ"ו - Why the Juxtaposition of the קְטֹרֶת and the עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב?
God can only be comprehended (to some extent) through history, not philosophy!
Mar 4, 2026 • 41min
The shaky acceptance of Purim by the Jewish people back at the time of Mordechai
Why did the Jews stop observing Purim a few years after they originally accepted it?
Mar 2, 2026 • 38min
Iran and Hamas: בּוֹר כָּרָה וַיַּחְפְּרֵהוּ וַיִּפֹּל בְּשַׁחַת יִפְעָל ("Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made.")
Has Sinwar ימ"ש caused the death of Khamenei and the fall of his regime? The ironies of the Purim season
Mar 2, 2026 • 36min
Analyzing the קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ episode. If it is actually a valid complaint, why were the Jews punished for sins in the Biblical Era?
Was the mountain held over their heads at Sinai to compel them to accept ALL the mitzvot? Did the Jews not want to accept ANY mitzvot? Or just some of them? In other words, what actually happened as a result of Purim?
Mar 1, 2026 • 38min
The archaeology of a Dvar Torah - The כְּתַב סוֹפֵר on the last verse in the Megilah
Why would he deprecate the use of coercion on the non-frum? The answer lies in his own and his family's history...
Feb 26, 2026 • 8min
Addendum to the podcast this morning re: הֵגֶא סְרִיס הַמֶּלֶךְ שֹׁמֵר הַנָּשִׁים
וְנָתַתִּי לָהֶם בְּבֵיתִי וּבְחוֹמֹתַי יָד וָשֵׁם טוֹב מִבָּנִים וּמִבָּנוֹת שֵׁם עוֹלָם אֶתֶּן לוֹ אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִכָּרֵת
Feb 25, 2026 • 32min
Why some rabbis disliked Mordechai - They thought the was being מחמיר at the expense of the entire Jewish People
Had Esther's intervention not succeeded, would Mordechai THEN bow down to Haman to save the Jews?
