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History Crash Course #51: The Kabbalists
by Rabbi Ken SpiroIn the 16th century, the Israeli mountaintop town of Tzfat became the center of Jewish mysticism.
In the 16th century, the Israeli mountaintop town of Tzfat became the center of Jewish mysticism.
Initially a movement largely of the poor and uneducated, Hassidism emphasized spirituality in everyday life.
The Age of Reason gave Jews civil rights, but its emphasis on a Godless society was bound to backfire.
Germans emphasized their loyalty to the "fatherland" in order to be accepted in mainstream society.
The amazing story of Jewish influence on the founding fathers of American democracy.
This area of Russia where Jews were most oppressed gave rise to amazing achievements.
Government-organized pogroms against the Jews deflected attention from the corrupt regime.
Jews gained untold riches in America, at the cost of their heritage and spirituality.
Even in such civilized nations as France and the United States, anti-Semitism never died out.
While Nazi Germany systematically rounded up and executed Jews, the world closed its eyes and its doors.
Hitler implemented his goal to eliminate all Jews from the planet.
The re-birth of Israel is an unprecedented phenomenon in human history.
Herzl launched the political framework for the modern State of Israel.
The British promised to create a Jewish state, but served their own Arab-linked interests as millions died in the Holocaust.
After the British turned away Holocaust survivors from Israel, the UN voted to partition the land.
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been in a constant state of war, and yet has achieved great economic success.
In the final analysis, Jewish history makes no rational sense.
Four thousand years of Jewish history at a glance.