Crash Course

History Crash Course #2: The Bible as History

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

An enormous amount of information in the Bible has been borne out by archeology, through indirect or circumstantial evidence.

History Crash Course #3: The World of Abraham

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

By understanding the character of Abraham, the "proto-Jew", one can understand what Jews are all about.

History Crash Course #4: Abraham's Journey

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Abraham gave rise to a nation of Hebrews -- people who live "on the other side."

History Crash Course #5: The Promised Land

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

God gave Abraham the Land of Israel as a laboratory to create a model nation for the world.

History Crash Course #6: Isaac and His Sons

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

History repeats: The groove that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob carve will be for their descendants.

History Crash Course #7: Joseph

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Joseph demonstrates a classic pattern: The Jew arrives impoverished, works hard, and rises to the top.

History Crash Course #8: Reunion

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

To remedy the family animosity, Joseph sets the stage for a great test.

History Crash Course #9: Moses

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

In an all-time irony, Moses the savior of the Jewish people is raised in the house of the enemy of the Jews.

History Crash Course #10: Ten Plagues

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

With the Ten Plagues, the laws of nature are turned upside down to free the Jews.

History Crash Course #11: Mount Sinai

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The encounter between God and the Jews at Mount Sinai was a totally unique event in all of human history.

History Crash Course #12: The Golden Calf

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Only a tiny portion of Jews participate in worshiping the golden calf. So why blame the whole nation?

History Crash Course #13: The Tragedy of the Spies

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Every major disaster in Jewish history is connected to the 9th of Av. It all began with the 12 spies.

History Crash Course #14: Joshua and Conquest of the Promised Land

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

This is no typical war of conquest.

History Crash Course #15: The Time of the Judges

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Jewish guidance came from the "judges," who were both warriors and prophets.

History Crash Course #16: King Saul

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

King Saul was a great man who committed one terrible mistake, dooming his reign from the start.

History Crash Course #17 - David: Shepherd & Warrior

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Still too young to fight in the army, David becomes Israel's champion when he slays Goliath.

History Crash Course #18: David: The King

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

King David established Jerusalem as Israel's capital over 3,000 years ago.

History Crash Course #19: King Solomon

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

King Solomon, the wisest of all men, built the Temple in Jerusalem and reigned over Israel's golden age.

History Crash Course #20: A Divided Nation

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The 10 northern tribes secede, splitting Israel in two.

History Crash Course #21: Assyrian Conquest

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Assyrians conquer northern Israel and vanquish the nation with exile.

History Crash Course #22: The End of Israel

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Kingdom of Judah lasts another of 134 years before it falls.

History Crash Course #23: Babylonian Exile

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Babylonians think God has abandoned the Jews and celebrate. But they have a surprise coming.

History Crash Course #24: Purim in Persia

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

A feast celebrating God's abandonment of Israel puts into motion Haman's plot to annihilate the Jews.

History Crash Course #25: The Second Temple

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Holy Temple is rebuilt, but is not the same with the Ark of the Covenant missing.

History Crash Course #26: The Great Assembly

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Extraordinary sages define the essence of Judaism for the Jews of Israel and the Diaspora.

History Crash Course #27: The Greek Empire

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

To the Greeks, what was beautiful was holy; to the Jews, what was holy was beautiful. These views were bound to clash.

History Crash Course #28: Greek Persecution

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Terror reigned -- women were killed with babies tied around their necks.

History Crash Course #29: Revolt of the Maccabees

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Jewish revolt against the Greeks sets a precedent as the world's first religious war.

History Crash Course #30: The Romans

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Jewish tradition maintains the Romans were descendants of Esau, the bloodthirsty brother of Jacob.

History Crash Course #31: Herod the Great

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

A madman who murdered his own family and many rabbis, Herod was also the greatest builder in Jewish history.

History Crash Course #32: Hillel and Shammai

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

In a time when many things were going wrong for the Jews, the sages Hillel and Shammai defined what was going right.

History Crash Course #33: The Great Revolt

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

In a seemingly suicidal move, the Jews take on the mighty Romans.

History Crash Course #34: War For Jerusalem

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Jewish nation fights to save its spiritual center.

History Crash Course #35: Destruction of the Temple

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

On the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, the 9th of Av, the Temple burns to the ground.

History Crash Course #36: Timeline: From Abraham to Destruction of the Temple

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Two thousand years of Jewish history at a glance.

History Crash Course #37: Bar Kochba Revolt

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Despite the disastrous results of the Great Revolt, the Jews revolt yet again.

History Crash Course #38: Exile

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Romans sought to extinguish Jewish presence in Jerusalem by renaming Israel to Palestine.

History Crash Course #39: The Talmud

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

In a time of chaos, the sages do the unprecedented and write down the Oral Law.

History Crash Course #40 - Seeds of Christianity

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

At a time of cruel oppression, splinter sects spring up in belief that the apocalypse is at hand.

History Crash Course #41: From Paul to Constantine

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Early Christianity attracted those unwilling to take on all of Judaism's precepts.

History Crash Course #42: Rise of Islam

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Mohammed reacted with anger when Jews refused to recognize him as the last of the prophets.

History Crash Course #43: The Jews of Babylon

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The oldest and most stable of Jewish communities was spared the ravages of holy warriors.

History Crash Course #44: The Jews of Spain

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Spain was the Medieval golden land of opportunity for Jews.

History Crash Course #45: The Crusades

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Crusaders came to liberate the Holy Land from the "infidels" - and woe to any Jew who stood in their way.

History Crash Course #46: Blood Libel

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

Christian accusations leveled against the Jews were extreme and irrational.

History Crash Course #47: The Black Death

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Europeans didn't know what caused the bubonic plague, but had no trouble blaming the Jews.

History Crash Course #48: The Inquisition

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Inquisition sought to expose Jews who converted to Christianity but were still secretly Jewish.

History Crash Course #49: The Jews of Poland

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

King Boleslav of Poland invited the Jews, granting them unprecedented rights and privileges.

History Crash Course #50: Reformation and the Jews

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

The Reformation exposed the corruption of the Church. For the Jews it meant more bad news.

» Crash Course

Jewish history teaches not only to avoid past mistakes, but to understand where destiny is leading us.

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3.History Crash Course #18: David: The King

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