David Solomon examines Jewish discussions on the death of Titus, the Roman general who presided over the siege in Jerusalem which led to destruction of the Second Temple. Unsurprisingly, many Jewish commentators throughout history have painted

#117 Kabbalah on the Jewish Bookshelf

Jun 30th, 2022 1h 6m

David Solomon examines the question: Which books of Kabbalah should a person have when building a Jewish library? He also speaks for the first time publicly about completing the first-ever full English translation of the cornerstone kabbalistic

#116 Torah & Text in an Age of Turmoil

May 27th, 2022 29m 45s

David Solomon’s siyum on the Talmudic Tractate of Sotah was a (pre) Tikkun Leil presentation delivered online on the eve of Shavuot in 2020 due to COVID restrictions preventing traditional in-person learning on the first night of the festival.

#115 Jewish History in Six Chapters (6)

May 13th, 2022 1h 34m

This final part of David Solomon’s Jewish History overview series explores the biblical period, from Avraham to the Jewish return to Zion after the Babylonian exile. The talk covers: the patriarchs and matriarchs the Egyptian exile and the goin

#114 Jewish History in Six Chapter (5)

Apr 29th, 2022 1h 33m

David Solomon explores the past 500 years of Jewish History, from approximately 1500 to today. In this talk, David examines each century in detail, looking at: Sixteenth Century – Johannes Reuchlin The printing of the Talmud Shlomo Molcho and

#113 Jewish History in Six Chapters (4)

Apr 14th, 2022 1h 28m

The fourth lecture in David Solomon’s overview series of Jewish history examines the years 1000 to 1500, known as the period of the Rishonim. The talk explores the complex and sometimes contradictory experiences of different Jewish populations

#112 Jewish History in Six Chapters (3)

Mar 31st, 2022 1h 25m

This third instalment of David Solomon’s overview series of Jewish History explores the years between 500 and 1000 CE, known as the period of the Geonim. Lecture Summary In this six-part lecture series, David Solomon provides an overview of Jew

#111 Jewish History in Six Chapters (2)

Mar 10th, 2022 1h 25m

This Jewish History lecture is the second talk from David Solomon’s six-part overview series. The lecture examines the first five hundred years of the common era (0 to the year 500 or 3760 to 4260 in the traditional Hebraic calendar), known in

#110 Jewish History in Six Chapters (1)

Mar 3rd, 2022 1h 28m

David Solomon’s Jewish History lecture examines the Second Temple Period (Bayit Sheini), which spans from approximately the year -500 (or 500 BCE) to the theoretical year 0 (3260 to 3760 in the traditional Hebraic calendar). Lecture Summary In

#109 The Messianic Idea in Jewish History (4)

Jan 2nd, 2022 1h 27m

David Solomon explores messiahs of the modern period of Jewish history and the dangers of mystical attempts to bring about redemption. Among the figures David discusses are: Yosef Della Reina Rabbi Avraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi Shlomo Molcho and

#108 The Messianic Idea in Jewish History (3)

Dec 15th, 2021 1h 19m

In this lecture series, David Solomon comprehensively traces the evolution of the Jewish messianic idea as it developed through history. This lecture provides an in-depth examination of how the messianic concept transformed from the end of the

#107 The Messianic Idea in Jewish History (2)

Dec 2nd, 2021 1h 21m

David Solomon explores the evolution of the messianic idea in Jewish history following the Second Temple era. He examines how circumstances and events propelled transformations in messianic thought. With the Temple’s destruction in 70 CE, David

#106 The Messianic Idea in Jewish History (1)

Nov 17th, 2021 1h 23m

In these lectures, David Solomon will examine how the Jewish idea of the messiah changed over history. He starts by explaining the messiah idea is the expectation that a special time or “end of days” will come when a leader or redeemer will mak

#105 A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time (4)

Nov 3rd, 2021 1h 6m

David Solomon examines major works and ideas in Kabbalah over the past five centuries in this final part of his lecture series, A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time. The talk explores the contributions of: The GR”A, the Vilna Gaon Rabbi Chaim Luz

#104 A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time (3)

Oct 21st, 2021 1h 9m

The third part of David Solomon’s lecture series, A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time, examines two towering kabbalistic figures of the 16th century. David explores the ideas of Rabbi Moshe (Moses) Cordovero (the RaMaQ) and Rabbi Yitzchak (Isaac

#103 A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time (2)

Oct 7th, 2021 57m 38s

“The Zohar is not a book but a phenomenon.” David Solomon’s second lecture in his series, A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time, explores the extraordinary ideas and contributions of the: Zohar, Tikkunei HaZohar, and Sefer ha-Temunah. In his discu

#102 A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time (1)

Sep 23rd, 2021 1h 5m

David Solomon provides a remarkable historical overview of the origins of kabbalistic ideas through the emergence of its early fundamental texts. The series explores numerous questions regarding the development of Kabbalah: What are the key kab

#101 The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva (4)

Sep 10th, 2021 32m 26s

This final part in David Solomon ‘s four-part Zoom series in the lead-up to Yom Kippur, The Power of Challenge, the Challenge of Teshuva, looks at the issue of repentance and forgiveness within community. David examines three fascinating and, a

#100 The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva (3)

Sep 2nd, 2021 30m 57s

This third lecture in David Solomon’s Zoom series, The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva, different ways the Talmud discusses the concept of teshuva. David explores three illustrative episodes from Tanach and the Talmudic period identif

#99 The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva (2)

Aug 26th, 2021 31m 6s

Part two of David Solomon’s Zoom series, The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva, looks at the idea of individual and collective teshuvah in Tanach. The lecture examines the story of the prophet Jonah and the teshuvah of the city of Ninev

#98 The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva (1)

Aug 19th, 2021 30m 10s

The first episode of David Solomon’s Elul Zoom lecture series, The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva, considers early biblical figures whose individual examples of teshuva illustrate a range of human responses to this powerful idea of s

#97 Unorthodox Episodes from the Talmud (4)

Aug 12th, 2021 30m 53s

This final episode of David Solomon’s series “Unorthodox Episodes of the Talmud” explores the idea of the evil inclination – the yetzer harah – with a particular focus on problems relating to sexual temptation. The Yetzer Harah David explains t

#96 Unorthodox Episodes from the Talmud (3)

Aug 5th, 2021 28m 46s

The third part of David’s series, Unorthodox Episodes from the Talmud, explores a fascinating series of interconnected stories involving: a high-level international diplomatic mission, undercover rabbinical espionage, a cast of remarkable Talm

#95 Unorthodox Episodes from the Talmud (2)

Jul 29th, 2021 32m 27s

Part two of David’s Zoom series, Unorthodox Episodes from the Talmud, mixes Jewish history with textual learning and fascinating storytelling. The talk continues the story begun in the previous episode regarding Rav Kahana, a third-century sage

#94 Unorthodox Episodes from the Talmud (1)

Jul 22nd, 2021 30m 27s

David Solomon explores several fascinating episodes described in the Talmud. This first lecture in the series discusses an unusual Talmudic incident involving disloyalty, self-righteousness, contempt, justice, death, restitution, escape, and co