Category: 2020 podcasts

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#34 Chazal in the Age of Empires: An Overview of the Talmudic Period (part 1)

The rise of the influence of Chazal, the sages of the Talmud, emerged during the early phases of Roman rule over the Land of Israel.  In this podcast episode, David examines the key characters and events of the early phase of the Talmudic Period. He explores the changing focus of Jewish existence from one based on Temple worship to textual learning and laws. David also offers a range of fascinating stories preserved from the time in the fundamental texts written during this period.

Ephraim Moses Lilien, The Talmud Students, engraving, 1915. Public Domain.

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#33 The Geonic Period: Jewish History of the 6th to 10th Centuries (part 3)

The tenth-century of Jewish History is the focus of this final part of David’s series on the Geonic Period. In this podcast episode, David explores the life, characters, and contributions of some of the towering intellectual and rabbinical authorities of that period. He also discusses the incredibly influential translations, texts and Jewish resources developed by these Geonim which became central to Jewish life until today.

Manuscript of Sughrat (Socrates) belongs to a 13th century Seljuk illustrator. It is currently kept at Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul, Turkey. Public Domain.

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#32 The Geonic Period: Jewish History of the 6th to 10th Centuries (part 2)

Jewish life of the 8th and 9th centuries is the focus of this podcast episode. In examining this period, David Solomon explores the impact of the battle for control of Spain on Jewish life; the emergence of profoundly influential Jewish legal codifications and spiritual resources; the reputed mass conversion of the kingdom of the Khazars; the beginnings of the Karaite movement; and the tussle for primacy between the rabbis of Palestine and Babylonia. David also discusses a number of extraordinary thinkers, explorers, and merchants.

13th century illustration depicting a public library in Baghdad, from the Maqamat Hariri. Bibliotheque Nationale de France. Public Domain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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#31 The Geonic Period: Jewish History of the 6th to 10th Centuries (part 1)

During the 6th and 7th centuries, Jewish populations were centred in territories ruled by the Sassanian, Byzantine and the Western Roman empires. In this podcast episode, David Solomon examines how Jewish life unfolded during these two centuries. He explores the changing fortunes of the renowned Jewish academies of Sura and Pumbedita; the role and status of the Jewish exilarch over generations; the brief existence of a semi-independent Jewish State in Jerusalem; and the rise and fall of Jewish communal safety throughout the generations.

Image: Reproduction of the Madaba Map, a 6th century AD floor mosaic in the early Byzantine church of Saint George at Madaba containing the oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Creative Commons (see https://www.flickr.com/photos/carolemage/15010441404).

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#30 The Passover Seder ‘in one hour’

Every year Jewish people come together in homes around the world to share in the mitzvah of the Passover seder. But what are the essential elements of the seder? What do people need to know in order to fulfil this mitzvah? In this podcast episode, David Solomon discusses the key things people need to understand about the Passover seder, including what they are commanded to do in relation to the festival of Passover, in general, and the seder specifically. David also provides background to the Haggadah (the telling of the Passover story) and the requirements for performing this commandment.

This lecture was recorded at Ealing Synagogue in 2009.

Image: ‘Passover’ by Arthur Szyk 1948. Image supplied by Centre for Jewish History (for reuse rights see https://www.cjh.org/about/copyright-information)

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#29 Chassidism ‘in one hour’

Arising in the wake of a number of dramatic historical events of the 17th century, the Chassidic movement emerged in the first half of the 18th century under the charismatic leadership of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, with profound effect on European Jewry. In this podcast episode, David Solomon provides an introduction and overview of Chassidism, looking at its early leaders and their ideas. David also examines the impact of the movement, how it has evolved, and the form it has come to take in the current age.

Painting by Roger David Servais – Hasidic jewish fiddler, Homage to Daniel Ahaviel, 100 cm x 130 cm, oil on canvas, 2010, R. David S.pai. Creative Commons.

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#28 Kabbalah ‘in one hour’

De-mystifing the mystical: in this podcast episode David Solomon explores the complex and profound field of Kabbalah to provide an overview of its texts and ideas, together with their historical background. David also explains exactly where popular Kabbalah comes from and provides the one thing that it is missing: context.
Image by Eliak: Version of the Tree of Life based on that which appears in the Bahir, but with the Sephiroth labelled with Latin letters, and showing both Keter and Da’ath (properly, only one would be shown, and the number of Sephiroth would therefore be ten). Public Domain.

 

 

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#27 Women of the Second Temple Period

David discusses the lives and contributions of several remarkable women who lived during the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Their stories are not only fascinating in themselves, but they shed a light on the era in which they lived. This podcast episode, released in advance of Purim, a festival based in a tale of female leadership and courage, comes from a recorded lecture to Jewish Studies teachers in 2019.

John William Waterhouse: Mariamne Leaving the Judgement Seat of Herod

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#26 Dinkum Diaspora: Highlights of Australian Jewish History (part 4)

This final lecture in the Highlights of Australian Jewish History series examines the years between the 1930s to 1960s. In this podcast episode, David Solomon discusses the contributions made by a number of the key rabbis of this period. He also explores the debate within the Australian Jewish community around Zionism; its response to Jewish migration from Egypt and Eastern Europe; and the remarkable impact of the Jewish day school movement on the community.

Moshe Vilenski playing piano and Shoshana Damari singing at DP camps in Cyprus (ca. 1947–48). Public Domain.

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#25 Dinkum Diaspora: Highlights of Australian Jewish History (part 3)

The ‘Golden Age’ of Jewish life in Australia began, appropriately, in the 1850s with the start of the gold rushes, a phenomenon that was to triple the size of the Jewish population in the colonies. This podcast episode, the third in this series on Australian Jewish History, explores the stories of Australian Jews over the 80 years that followed – including their involvement with the growth and federation of this new nation; participation in its civic and cultural expansion; and the enormity of the First World War. David focuses on a range of remarkable Jewish figures who made significant – and sometimes extraordinary – contributions to the building and development of Australian society and nationhood.

Inspection of the Royal Marines Guard of Honour; with Governor General Sir Isaac Isaacs. 1936. Public Domain.

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