Explore every episode of the podcast The Jewish Story

In this episode, we meet the first female rabbi in Jewish history, see the fallout from Shabbetai Tzvi's rise and fall in the Ottoman Empire, explore life in the European colonies of South America and the Caribbean in the 17th century, and meet the first Jews to set foot in North America.

In this episode, we make a brief pit stop in Safavid Iran, before turning to the Ottoman Empire. We see the first cracks form in the Empire, and watch as power shifts between the sultan, his harem, and his slave soldiers. We take an in-depth look at Jewish life in the Ottoman Empire, and then witness the rise and fall of Shabbetai Tzvi, global celebrity and purported messiah.

In this episode, we discuss the Khmelnytskyi rebellion, meet both the Court Jews and Betteljuden of Germany, explore Jewish life in Italy, watch the Jews of France and Spain slowly rebuild, and survey the foundling Jewish communities of Scandinavia.

In this episode, we meet the Chief Rabbis of Amsterdam, we hear an explorer's tale of finding ancient Jews in North America, we see the toppling of a king in England, we meet the two men who would go on to overturn the centuries-long ban on Jews in England, and we survey the life of Baruch Spinoza, a controversial secular Jewish figure.

In the first episode of Season 5, we explore the foundling Jewish community of Amsterdam, and watch it grow to become one of the most important Jewish communities in the world. We witness the explosion of Protestantism across Europe, and meet Uriel Dacosta, one of the first modern secular Jews.

In this episode, we recap Season 4 of the Jewish Story, spanning from the late 15th to the early 17th century. We review the routes of escape for Iberian Jews at the height of the Spanish Inquisition, the massive rescue network of Gracia Mendes, the first Jews to arrive in the New World, the small Jewish communities of the far East and Africa, and the rising Christian antisemitism of late 16th century Europe.

In this episode, I sit down with my sister, Emily Kroft, to discuss Maimonides, the Spanish Inquisition, internalized antisemitism, the nuances of Jewish assimilation, and what defines Jewish identity.

In this episode, I sit down with Belle Jarniewski to discuss the First Crusade, some of Maimonides's most influential ideas, the nature of Jewish resilience, and the expulsion of Jews from Europe.

In this episode, I sit down with my friend Lainey Bokhaut to discuss the first 500 years of the common era. Listen as we discuss the state of modern Jewish rebellion, the importance of perspective-taking, and what it means to be on the right side of history.

In this episode, we return to India to meet two new groups of Jews who would become prominent populations in Indian society; we travel to China, where we see how Chinese Jews attempted to blend Jewish tradition with Chinese neo-Confuscian culture and philosophy; and we survey the Jews of East and West Africa, and briefly discuss the evidence of Afro-Jewish origin.

In this episode, we see a new Pope elected, and a new wave of Jewish expulsions sweep across Europe. We follow Gracia and Joseph Nasi to Constantinople, and watch them ascend to great heights within the Ottoman Empire. We see a new Jewish city established in northern Palestine, and learn of the golden age of Kaballah. And we meet the Jewish serving women who became close advisors of some of the most powerful political figures in Ottoman society.

In this episode, we meet the Mendes family, and watch as they orchestrate the daring and dangerous escape of thousands of conversos from Portugal.

In this episode, I sit down with Rabbi Anibal Mass to discuss the Karaites, how technology has modernized Jewish practice, how to define "Jewish music", and how the emergence of Christianity and Islam has shaped Jewish history.

In this episode, we will meet the first conversos to set foot on the American continent, see an Ashkenazi population boom in Poland and Lithuania, and witness the rise to dominance of the Mamluk and Ottoman Empires.

In this episode, we will see what became of the conversos who fled to Portugal in the wake of the Spanish Inquisition, tour the first formal Jewish ghetto in history, and meet two mysterious Jewish figures who would go on to brush shoulders with popes and kings.

In this episode, we will review the history covered in Season 3, spanning from the Great Schism of the church in 1054 CE until the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.

In this episode, the rising tide of anti-Jewish hatred we've seen throughout the season will culminate in the Spanish Inquisition - a mass extermination of Jews from Spain.

In this episode, the Talmud itself stands trial in France and Spain, an epidemic rocks medieval Europe, a wave of Jewish pogroms sweeps Christian Spain, and we are introduced to Nahmanides and the Jews of India,

In this episode, we will explore 13th century Ashkenazi and Sephardic communities, meet some famous medieval Jewish money-lenders, learn of the Fourth Lateran Council, and witness the emergence of some of the most damaging antisemitic tropes in history.

In this episode, we witness a wave of anti-Jewish bigotry and violence sweep across Christian Europe, watch Saladin and his Ayyubid caliphate re-take the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and meet Maimonides, one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the Medieval period.

In this episode, we learn of Christianity's great schism, see the Seljuq Turks launch an empire, witness the devastation of the First Crusade, and meet one of the most famous Jewish scholars in history.

In this episode, we revisit the highlights of Jewish history covered in Season 2, from the aftermath of the First Roman-Jewish War to the birth of the Ashkenazi Jewish community and the Fitnah of Al-Andalus.

In this episode, we meet two new Jewish communities, and explore the Jewish literary traditions of Spain and the western Muslim Empire.

In this episode, we explore Jewish life in the Muslim Empire during the late first millennium.

In this episode, we survey the Jewish Diaspora, and meet a brand new religion that would sweep the ancient world.

In this episode, we follow the rise of Christianity from a small prophetic following to a massive religion encompassing the entire Roman Empire, and we see its effect on the surrounding Jewish population.

In this episode, we explore the aftermath of the First Roman-Jewish War, and watch two distinct Jewish communities form in Judea and Mesopotamia.

In this episode, we recap the first 1300 years of Jewish history, from the exodus from Egypt to the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

In this episode, I sit down with Sherry Wolfe-Elazar, a Jewish educator (and my former elementary school teacher) to discuss the Greek and Roman periods of Jewish history, and what lessons modern-day Jews can learn from the past.

In this episode, we follow Herod the Great's rise to power, watch Judea devolve into chaos under the rule of successively unstable Roman Emperors, and witness a climactic and devastating showdown between the Jews and their Roman occupiers.

In this episode, we follow the rise and fall of the Hasmonean dynasty, and our Jewish story becomes enmeshed with Roman history.

In this episode, we watch the Ptolemies and Seleucids battle over control of Israel, follow the intrigue of Jewish elites fighting for the position of High Priest, hear of the brutal Greek repression of Jewish practice, and see the rise of a rebellion.

In this episode, Rabbi Matthew Leibl and I sit down to discuss the first eight centuries of Jewish history, and their relevance to modern Jewish life.

In this episode, we follow the parallel paths of Jews after the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem. A temple is destroyed, a city is rebuilt, and the first public Torah reading is performed.

In this episode, we discuss the earliest evidence of Jewish existence, and follow the Jewish Kingdom from its inception through its various conflicts with neighbouring Empires, culminating in the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple.

Welcome to The Jewish Story! In this brief introductory episode, I introduce myself, give some background on this podcast, lay out a roadmap for Season One, and describe my primary sources for this history.