Shows / Jewish History Uncensored
Jewish History Uncensored
Rabbi Arnie Wittenstein is a well known Torah scholar, Tanach expert, and Historian. He has lectured in the Mir Yeshiva, Torat Shraga, and many Shuls internationally. These podcasts integrate his broad knowledge of many different facets of Torah and History. Join in weekly to gain accurate and in depth knowledge of some of the most important and controversial topics in Jewish History. For tours, speaking engagements, or sponsorships contact us at Jewishhistoryuncensored@gmail.com
Episodes
- Jewish History Uncensored
#191 - The Baal HaTanya in Liadi & Attitude Towards the French Russian War of 1812
Baruch Dayan Emes: Unfortunately Rabbi Wittenstein is sitting Shiva for his father until Wednesday morning (May 29) in Arzei HaBira in Jerusalem…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#190 - Korczak, Heroism & Kiddush Hashem
In this episode we at Korczak's life and how in many places he had very classic Jewish reactions to things despite his lack of Jewish education. We look at his…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#189 - October 7th, The Holocaust, Heroism, & Korchak
In this episode we look carefully compare and contrast the events of October 7th and the Holocaust. How much do they have in common? Is it proper to add the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#188 - Challenges & Lessons of Egyptology
This week's episode is dedicated in honor of Rav Dr Howie Apfel In this episode we take a closer look at the basic challenges of understanding the History of…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#187 - Egyptology & History
In this episode we take a deeper look at why the phenomenon of Egyptology has such an attraction to people. Why are people more interested in Egyptology than…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#186 - Understanding Reality: Egyptology & Reality
In this episode we look at how perception of reality affects our lives. We also look at how different people have different perceptions of reality. Why do some…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#185 - Final Complications: R' Avrohom Kalisker vs Baal Tanya
In this episode, we look at the basic methodology of how to examine Historical stories. When should we accept a story as factual and when should we reject a…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#184 - The Challenge & Limits of Education
In this episode we take a deeper look at the challenges and limits of education. How do we understand the ideal of education? How does an ideally educated…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#183 - R' Avrohom Kalisker vs the Baal HaTanya
In this episode we look at R' Avrohom Kalisker's part in establishing the Ashkenzi community in Israel. We look at why R' Avrohom Kalisker initially attacks R'…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#182 - Charisma and Leadership: R Avrohom Kalisker & the Vilna Gaon
In this episode we take a more careful look at the part charisma plays in communal leadership. We also discuss why the Rambam tried to avoid communal…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#181 - Charisma, Rabbinic Decisions & Leadership
In this episode we look at the part that charisma plays in History. Was every great Rabbi by definition a charismatic figure? Is it possible that charisma was…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#180 - The Vilna Gaon's Theory of Incongruent Actions - A Deeper Look
In this episode we take a more careful look at the Vilna Gaon's theory of, 'Incongruent Actions'? How many places does he apply this to? Is there a difference…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#179 - The Vilna Gaon's Theory of Incongruent Actions
The main topic of this episode is the Vilna Gaon's theory about, 'Incongruent Actions'. The episode starts with a quick synopsis of my comments of the crisis…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#178 - Gaza War - Israel & the World
In this episode we look at the deep complexities of how the world relates to the State of Israel. What are the main elements of this very complicated…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#177 - The Gaza War - Understanding the Governmental Crisis
In this episode, we look at the basic structure of how modern government works, and how this creates a challenge in governance. We also look at why…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#176 - Gaza War - Accomplishments & Crisis
In this episode we look at the Historical factors than have enable Israel to largely conduct this war in a successful way. How is it that the IDF has become…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#175 - Gaza War - The Looming Crisis
In this episode we take a look at how our understanding of this event has been affected over the last months. We examine the unique facets of this conflict as…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#174 - Zman Tefila & The Vilna Gaon's Opposition to Chassidus
In this episode we examine more of the technical details of zman Tefila. How late is one allowed to start Shachris? What defines starting Shachris? We also…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#173 - Nusach HaTefila & Zmanai Tefila
In this episode we take a more in depth look at the origins of the different Nusachs. Can someone change from Ashkenaz to Sefard, or from Sefard to Ashkenaz?…
- Jewish History Uncensored
The Sabbatean Accusations Against Chassidus
In this episode we take a more in depth look at the second arrest of the Baal Tanya. We look at how the Russian government generally dealt with the Jewish…
- Jewish History Uncensored
Release of the Baal Tanya & the Second Arrest
In this episode we look at why the Russians decided to release the Baal Tanya. We similarly look at the second arrest. What caused the second arrest? Why was…
- Jewish History Uncensored
The Arrest of the Baal Tanya
In this episode, we look at the first arrest and imprisonment of the Baal Tanya. What events caused this to happen? Where was he held in jail? Why was he held…
- Jewish History Uncensored
Kissinger - Youth & Legacy - Baal HaTanya - His Involvement in The Machlokes
In this episode, we examine Kissinger's youth more carefully based on a documentary produced by people in the KAJ community. We also look at the challenge of…
- Jewish History Uncensored
Henry Kissinger - Legacy, Lessons & Controversy
Henry Kissinger was one of the most important American diplomats of the twentieth century. He aroused very strong feelings and opinions in many circles. Why is…
- Jewish History Uncensored
Torah Lishma - Synthesizing the Gra and R' Chaim Volozhin
In this week's episode we take a deeper look at how to properly understand R Chaim Voluzhin's comments on the issue of Torah Lishma. We also discuss how to…
- Jewish History Uncensored
Torah Lishma - The Vilna Gaon's Approach
Many assume that R Chaim Volozhin completely argues with the Tanya about how to understand Torah Lishma. In this episode, we take a closer look at the issue…
- Jewish History Uncensored
Tanya - Torah Lishma: A Deeper Look
In this episode we take a deeper look at the potential benefits of proper Torah learning. How does this have the potential to give us the tools to deal with…
- Jewish History Uncensored
Tanya - Torah & Dveikus
In this episode we look at how Tanya understands the process of learning Torah and how this is connected to Dveikus. According to the Tanya, how do we…
- Jewish History Uncensored
Torah Lishma and Focused Direction in Avodas Hashem
In this episode, we start looking at the famed machlokes between the Tanya and Nefesh HaChaim about Torah Lishma. In order to properly understand R Chaim…
- Jewish History Uncensored
The Tanach Translations
Most of this episode looks at the basic challenge of translation. The beginning of the episode has some important insights into the issues we have discussed…
- Jewish History Uncensored
The Gaza War, Politics & Relating to News
In this episode we more carefully examine why Israel is calling this a war. We take a look at one of the basic parts of politics, compromise. Is compromise a…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#160 The Gaza War
In this week's episode we look at how to understand The Gaza War. What lessons can we learn from this war? What is the difference between this and the Yom…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#159 - The Spinoza Documentary
In this week's episode we look at the recent documentary about Spinoza. Spinoza made the news a couple of times in the last couple of years because of this…
- Jewish History Uncensored
158 - Vilna Gaon on Beinonim - Definition & Advice
In this week's episode we take a deeper look at how the Vilna Gaon understands Tzadikim, Banonim and Reshaim. How much of a difference is there between the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#157 - Confrontation of 1771, Vilna Gaon on Tzadikim,Beinonim & Reshaim
In the first half of this episode we look at some of the legends that people say about the famed confrontation between the Vilna Gaon and R Menachem Mendel of…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#156 - Relating to the Judgment of Rosh HaShana
In this week's episode, we look at some of the key events of this year, the tumult of the reforming of the Israeli Supreme Court and the advances of AI. What…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#155 - Tanya - Beinoni & Tzadik + Vilna Gaon on Beinoni
In this week's episode, we take look at the Tanya's distinction between the level of Banoni and the level of Tzadik. Is there a practical way to know who is…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#154 - Tanya and the Definition of "Beinonim"
In this episode we look at the issue of how to define the term, 'Banoni'. Tanya has a well known and fascinating way to define the term. In order to understand…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#153 - Tanya - Importance of Lishma
In this episode we take a deeper look at how the Tanya explains the importance of doing a mitzva properly. We also look at the response of R Chaim Volozhin to…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#152 - Tanya, Authority, Neo Chassidus & Pursuit of Perfection
In this week's episode we look at how the Tanya explains the importance of doing a mitzva lishma. We also look at why there is more interest in what are…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#151 - Tanya as Philosophy
In this episode we discuss the statement found in many contemporary publications that call Tanya, Chassidic Philosophy. Is this an accurate description of…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#150-The Tanya Controversy
In this episode we look some of the basic issues that Tanya discusses. We similarly look at how commonly are the Tanya's statements included in general…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#149 - Relating to Tisha b'Av & the Kinnos
In this episode we look at some of the key reasons we have difficulty relating to Tisha b'Av. We also look at why we find the Kinos so difficult to relate and…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#148-Chassidic Reaction to AI & R' Shnuer Zalman
In the episode, we look at how contemporary Chassidic groups have reacted to the AI advances. Why have the American Chassidic groups reacted and not the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#147 - R' Shnuer Zalman - Ascension to Leadership
In this episode we look at the process of R Shnuer Zalman of Liozna becoming the founder of what is called today Chabad Chassidus. When did R Shneur Zalman…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#146 - AI - Challenges to Amailus & Society
In this episode we take a different look at the way AI is different from human intelligence and how this creates a challenge for us at a very basic level. We…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#145 - AI - Understanding the Depth of the Challenge
In this episode, we look at how the advances in AI will affect us in a deep way. Is there any ways that AI has similarity to kishuf? One of AI's greatest…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#144 - AI & Human Accomplishment
Podcast Sponsored by Otzar HaChochma 30% OFF Summer Sale! Click here! In this episode we take another look why many are deeply unsettled by AI. We also look at…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#143 - Understanding Reaction to AI & ChatGPT
Podcast Sponsored by Otzar HaChochma 30% OFF Summer Sale! Click here! In this episode we look at the new innovation of AI, Chat GPT. Why do people feel…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#142 - R' Shnuer Zalman & The Shulchan Aruch HaRav
In this episode we look at one of R Shnuer Zalman's most important accomplishments, writing his commentary on Shulchan Aruch. Why did he do this? Did this have…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#141 - A Synopsis of the Sabbetian Background & R' Shnuer Zalman in Liozna
In this episode we take a quick look at the Sabbetian and Frankist movements and how this flavored the machlokes between the Chassidim and Misnagdim. We also…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#140 - Sassoon Codex, Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk & R' Shnuer Zalman of Liadi Early Life
In this episode we look at the sale of the Sasson Codex and how this relates to how people view Tanach. We look at the end of R' Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk's…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#139 - Eichmann issues + Synopsis of Machlokes between Besht and Gra
In this episode we start by looking at the significance of the Eichmann capture and execution from a Torah perspective. We also examine the issue of the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#138 - Sassoon Codex Update, R' Elimelech Old Age & R' Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk Origins
In this episode we start with an update of the Sassoon Codex. We then look at the end of R Elimelech's life. What happened between him and R Yaacov Yitzchok of…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#137 - R Elimelech's Tzetil
In this episode we look at some of the key lessons of R Elimelech's famed Tzetil Katan. How do we understand them in a practical sense? Can we blindly apply…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#136 - The Eichmann Trial
In this episode, we look at the world reaction to the Eichmann capture. How was it viewed at the time? How did the UN react to the Eichmann capture? We also…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#135 - The Eichmann Capture
In this episode we look at the Eichmann capture. What exact part did Eichmann play in the Holocaust? Why is he more clearly identified with the Holocaust than…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#134 - The Sassoon Codex
In this episode we look at the importance of the Sassoon Codex. The Sassoon Codex is going to be auctioned by Sotheby's May 16. The estimated opening bid is 30…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#133 - Relating to & Understanding Lessons of The Exodus
In this episode we look at the challenge of truly relating to The Exodus. Why are we so challenged? What can we do to deal with the challenge? What are the key…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#132 Chassidus - Chassidus, Emunas Chachomim & Haskala
In this episode we look at some of the other key reasons that Chassidus had more success in countering Haskala than Hisnagdus. What is the difference in the…