Jewish History Soundbites

Jewish History Soundbites


Latest Episodes

Paradise Lost: The Jews of Rhodes
January 19, 2021

The Rhodes Jewish community was an ancient one, and it flourished with the arrival of Spanish exiles following the expulsion of 1492 and the Ottoman takeover in 1522. Prominent in Mediterranian commerce, the Jewish community grew, and had many rabbis fro.

Unlikeliest of Exits: The Dramatic Escape of the Rayatz
January 16, 2021

In one of the most daring rescue schemes of the Holocaust era, Rav Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the sixth Lubavitch Rebbe, the Rayatz (1880-1950) was whisked out of Nazi occupied Poland by agents of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence. His follow..

From Abbey Road to Mt. Zion: The Jewish Music Revolution Part II
January 14, 2021

Aside from the Rabbi's Sons discussed in Part 1 of this miniseries, the 1960's saw the first music groups in Ohr Chadash, Pirchei and the London School of Jewish Song. From Israel came Chaim Banet and Jo Amar, the latter a pioneer of Morroccan Jewish mus.

Yes, We've Got the Music! The Jewish Music Revolution Part I
January 12, 2021

Modern Jewish music developed from the chassidic music of old to the new sound of the Jewish music revolution led by Shlomo Carlebach in the 1960's. The music world of pre war Europe was brought over to the emerging post war world by Yankel Talmud, Yom T.

Liberated But Not Free: The Displaced Persons Camps
January 09, 2021

With the end of the war and the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Allied armies were confronted with one of the byproducts of the Nazi regime - millions of 'displaced persons', many of whom had nowhere to go, and some of whom were Jewish survivors of the Nazi .

Litvaks Gone South: South African Jewry & Rabbi Avraham Tanzer
January 05, 2021

South African Jewish history is unique in several ways. Composed primarily of Jews of Lithuanian origin, it grew in the early decades of the 20th century with the waves of immigration from the Lithuanian area of the Russian Empire.Entering the diamond t..

Gangster on the Roof: Tales of the Jewish Mafia Part III
January 02, 2021

The Jewish mob wasn't strictly an American phenomenon born in the immigrant communities of the Lower East Side and Brownsville. It had antecedents across the ocean in the Jewish world of Eastern Europe.Jewish gangsters flourished in Warsaw, Odessa and o..

Living History: The Life of Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld Part II
December 31, 2020

Part 2:While some people read history, there are rare people who lived history through their own lives. One such individual was Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld (1923-2020). Born in Vienna into a family of Ger chassidim from Poland, his father's position as Gener..

Living History: The Life of Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld Part I
December 30, 2020

While some people read history, there are rare people who lived history through their own lives. One such individual was Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld (1923-2020). Born in Vienna into a family of Ger chassidim from Poland, his father's position as General Secre.

Yerushalayim Shel Malah: The World of Rav Zundel Kroiser
December 26, 2020

Rav Zundel Kroizer (1923-2014) was one of the last of the greats of the Old Yishuv of Yerushalayim. A member of a large and important Yerushalmy family, his ancestors and family members included many rabbis and activists who influenced the life of the Ho.