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
#131 Chassidus - Response to Haskalah
In this episode we look at the key reasons Chassidus was able to successfully counter the Haskala. What key innovation did Chassidus have that helped them…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#130 - Chassidus and Haskala II - Background
In this episode we look at the well known statement that Chassidus had better response to Haskala than Hisnagdus. How many factors were there in Czarist Russia…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#129-Mishley & Psychology II - Chassidus & Haskala
In this episode we take another look at the proper place of Psychology in terms of Torah. We also briefly look at how some of the core challenges created by…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#128 - Mishley, Psychology & Torah
In this episode we look at the overlap between Mishley and Psychology. How much overlap is there? Does classic academia address the overlap? How do we view…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#127 - The Challenge of Rationalism - Vilna Gaon's Response
In this episode we look at more of the Vilna Gaon's response to rationalistic thought. Should we completely avoid rational thought? Is there a place that the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#126 - Haskala and Enlightenment - The Vilna Gaon's Response
In this episode we take a closer look at early Jewish reaction to the Enlightenment. We also look at a couple of the places that the Vilna Gaon seems to be…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#125 - Haskala and Enlightenment - Early Response
In this episode we look at the general context of early response to Enlightenment and Haskala. When did response to Enlightenment begin? What is the basic…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#124 - Prophecy and Levels of Prophecy
In this week's episode we take a more careful look at the relationship between Prophecy and the Mikdash. Is there anyway to show the two are related? What do…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#123 - The Rambam and Prophecy
In this episode we look at the place the Rambam has in terms of understanding Prophecy. How important is Proohecy in Torah? How widely accepted are the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#122 - The Rambam Controversy
In this episode we look at the source of the controversy surrounding the Rambam. Was the Rambam the most controversial person in Jewish History? What made the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#121 - R Elimelech's Tzetil
In this episode we look at more of R Elimelech's teachings. One of R Elimelech's most important works was his Tzetil and Customs. What is the difference…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#120 R' Elimelech's Teachings & his Galus
In this episode we take a closer look at why R Elimelech is identified with Lizhensk. We also look at when the Galitziner identity came into being. We look at…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#119 - Chanukah & the Challenge of Commitment
In this episode we look at the key challenges that started in the Chanuka confrontation between the Greeks and the Jews. What is the difference between the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#118 - Understanding Hisnagdus & R' Elimelech's Exile
In this episode we look at how to determine a new idea's validity in greater Torah terms. We also look at the basic types of opposition to Chassidus. How long…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#117 - R Elimelech of Lizenshk - Youth & How He Became a Chassid
In this episode we look at R Elimelech of Lizenshk early life. How did someone from the Tiktin area become the primary leader of Chassidus in Galicia? How long…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#116 - Kabbala, Chassidus & Spirituality
In this episode we take a quick look at the basic structure of Kabbala and the place of the Ari in Kabbala. We take a quick overview of what the Besht's…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#115 - Besht & Magid of Mezritch
In this episode we look at the challenge of being involved in conflict and the basic pattern of conflict. We take a quick look at the basic historical outline…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#114 Jewish History & Jewish Historians
In this episode we look at one of the other challenges in understanding Jewish History, the Jewish Historians. The early Jewish Historians were either of…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#113 - Jewish History & Historical Objectivity
In this episode we look at the basic challenge of Historical objectivity. We also look at the specific challenge of objectivity in Jewish History. Are there…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#112 - R Kook on Spinoza & the Besht
In this episode we look at the famed statement of R Kook that there is a relationship between Spinoza's pantheistic ideas and the Besht's ideas. How do we…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#111 - National Identity, Spinoza & Zionism
In this episode we take a deeper look at the relationship between National Identity and Religion. How was this classically understood in the world? We also…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#110 - Spinoza, Toleration & National Identity
In this episode we look at one of Spinoza's most important historical contributions, his appeal for religious tolerance. Spinoza was the first major figure to…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#109 - Determinism and Tefilah
In this episode we conclude looking at Spinoza's philosophy of Determinism, and the Torah response to this idea. One of the broad life phenomenon that reflects…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#108 - Determinism & Justice
In this episode we continue looking at the basic flaws in Spinoza's philosophy of determinism. One of the key examples of deep and complicated Divine…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#107 - Rosh HaShana - Divine Justice & The Queen
In this week's episode we look at the basic structure of Rosh HaShana. What is the basic structure of the Divine Judgement on Rosh HaShana? We also look at…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#106 - Einstein and Determinism
In this episode we take a deeper look at Determinism and why Einstein was specifically attracted to this philosophy. We also take a deeper look at the Torah…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#105 - National Identity, Einstein & Determinism
In this episode we look at the conundrum of assimilated Jews and national identity. How much was this a factor in Einstein's life? How much was Einstein…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#104 - Rationalism, Spinoza & Einstein
Spinoza and modern philosophy claims to be rational. How do we define rationalism from a Torah perspective? What was the Rambam's approach to this issue?…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#103-Spinoza's Legacy - Secularism
In this episode we look at one of Spinoza's key legacies, creation of a secular world. The contemporary world in a cultural fashion is thoroughly secular. What…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#102 - Avoda Zara 101
In this episode we take a careful look at the phenomenon of Avoda Zara. What was Avoda Zara? Is the classic translation of Avoda Zara as idol worship accurate?…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#101 - Spinoza & Dibukim
In this episode we take a more deeper look at the issues that Spinoza raised about authorship in Tanach. How would this fit into Jewish History? What basic…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#100 - Tisha B'Av and The Highest of Places
In this episode we look at how we react to Tisha B'Av. How are we supposed to react to the Churban? Is there anything constructive and positive to do about…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#99 - Spinoza and Ibn Ezra - Authorship of the Torah
In this episode we take a closer look at Spinoza's claims about the Ibn Ezra. What was the Ibn Ezra's attitude to Chazal? How does the Ibn Ezra demonstrate the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#98 - Spinoza and Biblical Criticism
In this episode we look at some of Spinoza's key questions on the authenticity of Tanach. How original were his questions? How much before Spinoza should we…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#97 - Spinoza's Great Mistake
In this episode we take a closer look at one of Spinoza's most fundamental mistakes. Spinoza criticized Tanach because he wasn't able to apply Euclidean style…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#96 - Response to Heresy - Spinoza's Tanach Problem
In this episode we look at the issue of how to respond to heresy. How has this issue been dealt with traditionally? What type of response is appropriate? Who…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#95 - Heresy, Jewish identity, & Spinoza's First Published Work
In this week's episode we take a deeper look at why the Rambam's opinion about defining heresy should be considered the most definitive one. We also take a…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#94 - Spinoza, Shabtai Tzvi, and Atheism
In this episode we take a deeper look at the issue of Spinoza's Jewish identity. Spinoza claimed not to be Jewish. What can we learn about this issue from his…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#93 - Spinoza in Rijnsburg & Voorburg
In this episode we start by reviewing the basic outline of Spinoza's life until this point. We look at his stay in Rijnsburg and his relationship with DeVries…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#92 - Printing of Shas
In this episode we look at one of the most important historical events, the printing of Shas. When were the first volumes of Shas printed? Where were they…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#91 - Roe vs Wade - A Torah Perspective
In this episode we look at how to relate the Torah's understanding of abortion to the current debate in American society about abortion. Is it possible to say…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#90 - The Challenge of Focus
In this episode we take a deeper look at why there is a deeper challenge of focus in contemporary society. Why does contemporary society generally ignore any…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#89 - Understanding Human Accomplishment
In this episode we look at the ultimate philosophical quest, understanding what is man and what is ultimate human accomplishment. How did the classic…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#88 - The Philosophical Challenge of Understanding Reality
In this episode we take a deeper look at the proper context of Cartesian Philosophy. We also examine why Enlightenment Philosophers were so challenged by…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#87 - Descartes and Spinoza
In this episode we look at the most critical contextual factor in understanding Spinoza's legacy. There is broad consensus that modern philosophy starts with…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#86 - Lessons of the Holocaust
In this episode we look at some of the keys lessons of the Holocaust. Why should we remember the Holocaust? Is remembering the Holocaust a way to prevent a…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#85 - Understanding the War of Gog and Magog
The War of Gog and Magog is a topic that most people, even those with solid Torah knowledge are confused about. Who is Gog? Who or what is Magog? Why are…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#84 - Lesson and Deeper Understanding of R' Chaim Kanievsky זצ"ל
In this episode we look at how to practically implement the lessons of Rav Chaim Kanievsky's legendary knowledge into our lives. What practical steps can we…
Jewish History Uncensored#83 - Understanding the Broad Impact of Rav Chaim Kanievsky זצ"ל
In this episode we look at Rav Chaim זצ״ל and his broad appeal to all segments of Jewry in Israel. What was special about R Chaim? Why were so many parts of…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#82 - The True Significance of Philosophy
In this episode we look at the deeper significance of the changes in how our world looks at Philosophy. How much effort does the educated world out into…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#81 - Philosophy and Science
In this episode we look at what was motivating Spinoza to his major life decision. We also examine the difference between how the term philosophy was…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#80 - Lessons of the Spinozian Legacy
In this episode we look at why Spinoza's philosophy affected the Western world so deeply. We examine the fundamental differences between the way Judaism and…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#79 - Understanding the Russian Ukrainian Conflict
In this episode we look at the Russian Ukrainian crisis. Why are we so shocked by this event? How much of an anomaly is it historically? What important lessons…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#78 - The Spinoza Cherem II - The Intellectual Background
In this episode, we look more carefully at some of the key evidence the Beis Din had about Spinoza. What can we learn from the type of evidence about the…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#77 - The Spinoza Cherem
In this episode we closely look at the details of the Cherem that the Amsterdam community put on Baruch Spinoza. What is the halachic definition of a Cherem?…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#76 - The Search for Perfection and Chumras
In this episode we look at humanity's search for perfection and how this expresses itself in the world. Where does this very deep human drive come from? What…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#75 - Emunas Chachamim and Spinoza's Cherem I
In this episode we look at how Spinoza's level of Jewish education effected his ability to properly understand Chazal. We take a look at the different levels…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#74 - Spinoza's Jewish Education
In this episode we look at what level of Jewish education Spinoza got to. Did Spinoza get to the level of understanding how to read and analyze Shas? Did he…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#73 - Spinoza's Youth and Jewish Education in Amsterdam
In this episode we look at the Jewish Educational system in Amsterdam in the times of Spinoza. The Yeshiva had a system of six grades from the age of seven…
- Jewish History Uncensored
#72 - Spinoza's Complicated Family Situation
This episode is dedicated in honor of Yeshiva Torat Shraga. In this episode we look at the deep compilations of Spinoza's family. Spinoza's mother died when he…