Jewish History

Professor Ratzon tells the story of the discovery of the dead sea scrolls, the key figures involved, and the main contents of the scrolls. Eshbal Ratzon is an Associate Professor at the Department of Jewish Philosophy and the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University. She specializes in Jewish Studies, with a focus on Second Temple literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Her research examines ancient science, especially calendars and astronomy, combining historical and philological approaches with Digital Humanities methods.

An overview of the history of the famous Aleinu prayer.

How Israel had united behind the necessity of destroying Hamas

What was Rashi trying to accomplish with his commentary on the Torah?

A fascinating look at one of the most famous illustrated manuscripts of Tanach.

A fascinating look at how some Second Temple texts fell in and out of favor.

David Selis describes the history and culture of the Samaritans, focusing on their celebration of Passover. Specifically, it focuses on Passover 1968 the first time they were able to bring the Passover Sacrifice on their Holv Mountain, Mt. Gerizim, as a united community having been previously separated by pre-67 borders. David will draw on the recently discovered field notes and never before seen photographs from the archive of Prof Johanna Spector, a major scholar of Samaritan music and culture who was present for the Passover 1968 celebration.

What is the status of an individual forcibly converted to Islam according to Maimonides?

Glimpses into the lost world of Judeo-Arabic thought and literature.

Professor Schiffman showcases a variety of items that showcase the historical accuracy of the Hebrew Bible.

2000 years of Jewish history in under an hour!

The daily lives and affairs of the Jewish community of Sudan.

An inside view of the Temple. Where on Temple Mount was it built? Was the Temple Mount always as large as it is today? How many gates were there?

What attracts 2 million people yearly to this site?

Professor Don Seeman received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University and is Associate Professor in the Department of Religion and the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies at Emory University. He has taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Alec Nacamuli was born in Alexandria and fled after the Suez crisis in 1956. He is a council member of the Nebi Daniel International Association which strives to protect the Jewish heritage in Egypt and chairman of Sephardi Voices UK, an oral history project recording the lives of Jews from Arab countries who resettled in the UK. He is also a volunteer guide on Ancient Egypt at the British Museum.

How recent excavations in the city of Oxford, England, point ot the existence of Jewish residents.

Alison Salvesen is Professor of early Judaism and Christianity at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and Polonsky Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. She has an abiding interest in translations and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible.

A look at the history of this prayer as told through manuscripts held in the Bodleian Libary, Oxford, and in the Cario Geniza collection held at Cambridge.

Oded Borowski taught biblical archaeology and Hebrew at Emory University for 41 years. Born in Palestine under the British Mandate, he was a member of Kibbutz Lahav, in the northeastern Negev. He received his MA/PHD in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His dissertation, which became his first book, deals with agriculture during the Iron Age in Israel.

Christophe Stener graduated from Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and Ecole Nationale d'Administration. He is a fellow at the Université Catholique de l'Ouest (France) and author of 'The Book of Esther: An Exegesis in Pictures' and 'Dreyfus, le Judas français: Iconographie antisémite de l'Affaire.'

Does Rashi lean toward Midrashik and Talmudic interpretation? Or does he attempt to uncover the simple reading of Esther?

How the Book of Esther set the tone for the Jews in Exile

Judith Olszowy-Schlange traces the history of the oldest complete manuscript of the Babylonian Talmud, completed in 1342.

What do ancient inscriptions tell us about ancient synagogues and communities?

How and why Isaac Israeli's 'Yesod Olam' (Toledo 1310) underwent textual changes.

The tragic story of the Iraqi Jewish Community: how an ancient community was destroyed.

The key to understanding the Kabbalah of the middle ages, though the lens of Nachmandies' commentary on the Pentateuch.

Exploring the Ramchal's life, his conception of creation, and his belief in societal perfection.

A detailed analysis of the famous 13th-century mikveh in Friedberg Germany, and other medieval mikvaot, looking at the architecture, and attempting to answer the question, why were they dug so deep?

The importance and uniqueness of Jewish education. How the Mishnah, arranged by Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, shaped generations of Jewish children.

Assessing the context of the biblical corpus through the lens of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

A close look at the composition of a typical study hall during the early Mishnaic period. Looking for clues in the Kaufmann Manuscript of the fifth chapter of Ethics of Our Fathers.

Dr. Thea Gomelauri

Dr Peter Bergamin is currently Visiting Scholar of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, and Tutor for the Visiting Student Programme at Mansfield College. He completed his DPhil in Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford in 2016. His research focuses on Maximalist-Revisionist Zionism, and Jewish anti-British resistance during the period of the Mandate for Palestine.

A fascinating look at the manuscripts of Rashi found in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Drawing conclusions from variations in the text.