History for the Curious The most talked-about Jewish History Podcast History for the Curious features the dynamic historian and famous tour guide & lecturer: Rabbi Aubrey Hersh, live from Olami UK in London, hosted by myself: Mena Reisner Join us as we cross continents, sail through the centuries, tracing lives, uncovering events and following epic journeys, to reveal the untold stories, the scandals, and the mysteries, that have impacted our history and shaped us into who we are today. Encounter leaders, visionaries, spies, heroes & traitors and unpack 2,000 years of Jewish heritage. Go back to the story of Jews in the Temple...
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Sep 29, 2026 · 58:39
Forced to lead a dangerous double life as a covert Jew in Christian Europe, she inherited a vast fortune worth $1 billion and used her financial clout and shipping lines to…
Sep 15, 2026 · 48:52
Over a period of 30 years, Rav Yosef Karo wrote of his encounters with a divine messenger, an angel which identified itself as the living essence of the Mishna. The most public…
Sep 2, 2026 · 1:01:16
Join our WhatsApp group for weekly exclusive content: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FEgoaCOQoyU2VX49SwA8Aw?s=cl&p=a&ilr=4 This 2-part series discovers the dramatic life of Rabbi…
Jul 21, 2026 · 54:16
Join our WhatsApp group for weekly exclusive content: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FEgoaCOQoyU2VX49SwA8Aw?s=cl&p=a&ilr=4 Be Courageous, be Honest, be a Jew. Those were the words…
Jul 12, 2026 · 1:01:36
Join our WhatsApp group for weekly exclusive content: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FEgoaCOQoyU2VX49SwA8Aw?s=cl&p=a&ilr=4 George Mandel-Mantello was one man on his own, a Jew living…
Jun 28, 2026 · 58:09
Join our WhatsApp group for weekly exclusive content: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FEgoaCOQoyU2VX49SwA8Aw?s=cl&p=a&ilr=4 This two-part podcast explores what sets the Holocaust apart…
Jun 12, 2026 · 1:21:41
Exploring the lives of three Jewish doctors. Living in very different settings, yet linked by a common thread: compassion. They left a lasting mark on medicine and Jewish history…
May 28, 2026 · 58:37
The 1800s was an era when medicine sat at the crossroads of science, ruses and discoveries. New vaccines and medical impostors competed for public trust. People broke with…
May 13, 2026 · 59:59
With the advent of Napoleon and emancipation, Jews were given an offer they found hard to refuse and the Reform movement made significant inroads. Across many countries a war was…
Apr 28, 2026 · 49:32
Moses Mendelssohn was raised in an orthodox family, attended yeshiva for a decade of his life and was involved in Kehilla life for many years afterwards. But he is remembered for…
Apr 21, 2026 · 20:35
Born in 1930, she lived through many challenging events. Raised a family and was a regal figure. Yehi zichroh boruch
Apr 16, 2026 · 0:47
Rabbi Aubrey Hersh’s mother was niftar on Tuesday 27 Nissan, aged 95. Rabbi Hersh is sitting shiva at Eagle Lodge, Golders Green Road. Messages can be sent via WhatsApp to +44…
Mar 26, 2026 · 1:09:07
For Soviet Jews, matzah represented a longing for freedom – one we take for granted. This episode tells the hidden story of those heroes who risked everything to keep Pesach…
Mar 19, 2026 · 56:27
Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai traversed Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa on behalf of his brethren in Eretz Yisrael. His missions raised vital funds, to keep the Jews…
Mar 4, 2026 · 1:07:01
What makes music such a powerful medium? How was music used to attain prophecy? Has AI destroyed pure music? Did Beethoven use our Kol Nidrei? How do you create a 'hit' song? How…
Feb 23, 2026 · 1:07:05
In the 19th century, the Herzog family supplied wine to the Emperor, while the 20th ushered in the era and risks of Prohibition in America and the profound transformation of the…
Feb 15, 2026 · 47:37
Tracing the journey of Wine, from Roman times and the laws of Yayin Nesech, to Lead Poisoning, wine dilution and Rashi's momentous ruling. Spanning medieval France, Italy's…
Feb 3, 2026 · 1:07:19
The Church was determined to wipe out any vestige of Judaism from Spain, any custom, any law, any practice, and thousands of Jews would pay the price. Spain was not just one…
Jan 27, 2026 · 1:02:47
Post-1391 there was a period of uncertainty but many Conversos still found it possible to maintain a level of observance - sometimes even openly. It appeared that a Modus Vivendi…
Jan 14, 2026 · 1:03:19
The date of the Expulsion in 1492 is infamous. Less known or understood is the historical context that led there. How did a 1,000-year-old community lose its status and power?…
Dec 30, 2025 · 53:25
We know from both Jewish and secular sources, that 2,500 years ago the Babylonians led by Nevuchadnezar, besieged Jerusalem on this day. Two years later the Temple was destroyed.…
Dec 21, 2025 · 1:14:22
The Menorah was the most adopted symbol in the Jewish world. But where is the original? We know of a Menorah in Rome in 70CE. The Talmud tells us it was examined. But what…
Dec 11, 2025 · 51:01
Chanukah is central to our Jewish Calendar and way of life, but there are many unanswered questions: Why celebrate defeat? What was the real role of Kohanim during the Second…
Dec 4, 2025 · 1:03:12
Yitzchak Trebitsch was an active participant - under various names - in some of the twentieth century’s most important events: mass immigration, WWI wartime espionage, radical…
Nov 25, 2025 · 48:55
Small groups of crypto-Jews are known to have made their way to England. We know the names and occasionally the stories of some. But no one had a greater impact on England’s…
Nov 17, 2025 · 48:12
For centuries there were none left; The Jews had been driven out of England en-masse by Edward I... But the records tell us a different story. Henry VIII went searching for them…
Nov 6, 2025 · 1:06:19
In the wake of the return of the hostages that survived, challenges abound and life cannot return to normal. Israel confronts the unknown with hope, and across the world the…
Oct 26, 2025 · 1:27
We have produced 175 episodes over the past 4 years BH. But what makes Jewish History special? And what does the future hold? This short clip will give you some insights -…
Oct 23, 2025 · 48:49
To watch This Podcast, click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBpgg1wcQKw&t=2760s A wide-ranging and personal discussion with former U.S. Ambassador David Friedman,…
Sep 29, 2025 · 55:27
25 years after Paris the Talmud was being cross-examined again. This time the Christians intended to prove the truth of their faith from within Judaism ! In 1413, the Jews chose…
Sep 21, 2025 · 46:03
During the 13th century, Europe was controlled by a militant church, and France was ruled by Louis IX - a bitter enemy of the Jews. All copies of the Talmud were seized and four…
Sep 10, 2025 · 1:03:25
In 1263 the Ramban was forced to attend a public Disputation and defend the truths of the Talmud against attacks by the Dominicans, who were led by an apostate Jew. The Ramban…
Sep 4, 2025 · 1:10:19
By the 13th century, Spain was becoming a more uncomfortable place for Jews, partly due to communal structure. Ramban will engage in dampening the flames of controversy both…
Aug 2, 2025 · 1:02:39
Join our WhatsApp group for weekly exclusive content: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FEgoaCOQoyU2VX49SwA8Aw?s=cl&p=a&ilr=4 Many Jews were reluctant first-hand witnesses to Nazi…
Jul 30, 2025 · 57:54
We speak of 'Holocaust Survivors' without understanding what they survived, without knowing the trauma and guilt they carried. A young 16-year-old girl (now 97 years old) was…
Jul 23, 2025 · 43:03
Despite being a Western country, Holland almost equalled the East in its destructiveness during the Holocaust. 2 non-Jews created their own narrative by bypassing the system. One…
Jul 18, 2025 · 50:55
Hidden away in a tiny attic in Paris, a Jew created freedom for thousands by forging Identity cards, ration books and travel passes. Hunted by Nazis, his genius and dedication…
Jul 10, 2025 · 1:03:47
In the Medieval period, Jerusalem was repeatedly fought over and at times only 2 Jews lived there. Yet there were always those who braved making Aliya including Ramban, Bartenura…
Jun 27, 2025 · 48:23
How do we relate to the most recent events in the Middle-East? In 638 the Moslems transformed the city; but what was their motivation? What created the divisions of Jewish…
Jun 19, 2025 · 57:04
What does Yerushalayim represent? How does the current conflict with Iran impact upon that? Were the Jews expelled from Jerusalem after the Temple was destroyed? Why did the…
Jun 11, 2025 · 1:14:33
The existence of an Oral Law brought about debate and argument. So why not preserve it all in the Written text alone? And how do we decide who is right? Who makes that decision?…
May 29, 2025 · 53:31
How do we classify the various sections of the Oral Law (Torah She'Baal Peh)? Is the Oral Law Rabbinic or Biblical? Why do we need an Oral Law? How was it transmitted through the…
May 20, 2025 · 57:39
Was the 1919 Baseball series really determined by hardline gamblers? Why did a Rabbi give the eulogy at a gangster’s funeral? How did Issy Einstein become the greatest…
May 10, 2025 · 53:24
Between the wars - due mainly to Prohibition - crime flourished in America and Jews were not immune to the effects. Gangs of irreligious working class Jews, made their fortunes…
May 1, 2025 · 56:31
In the last 150 years, few things have created disputes in Jewish communities, in the way Eruvin has. Why? What makes an Eruv so very different to Kashrus? And in hindsight can…
Apr 27, 2025 · 45:22
Documents and Responsa from across the Jewish world reveal that for centuries Jews discussed, debated and disagreed over the Shabbos Eruv Walled cities, canals, telegraph poles,…
Apr 8, 2025 · 1:00:02
(To book the Provence trip with Rabbi Tatz & Rabbi Hersh - email giana.elav@gmail.com ) Jewish leadership found itself in a crisis post-1881, affecting not only their options but…
Mar 26, 2025 · 56:29
1855 brought a new dawn to Russia, and was embraced by many, although poverty remained a constant. When the Czar was assassinated, all hell broke loose and the Jews were given a…
Mar 19, 2025 · 53:18
Given the extreme circumstances, orders went out to remove informers using all available means; which led to arrests, interrogations and harsh sentences. Meanwhile in 1844, the…
Mar 11, 2025 · 57:23
Czar Nicholas hated Jews and Judaism in equal measure. He initiated 600 decrees against them over a 30 year period, and destroyed community life in Russia. The terror of his…
Mar 3, 2025 · 55:16
For centuries, Russia was home to the largest Jewish community in the world. But why did Jews choose to move to a country that never wanted them? Understanding this complex…
Feb 13, 2025 · 56:23
In Eastern Europe quacks and soothsayers were in abundance, as were invented remedies whilst the Ottoman Empire provided refuge from Spain but came with its own risk. But do the…
Feb 6, 2025 · 1:03:04
Why did Jewish doctors in the Middle East get involved in Politics? How should modern day doctors combine ethics and law? How many Jewish women medics were there in Europe? Who…
Jan 29, 2025 · 1:06:14
‘My son-in-law the Doctor’ may be a cliche, but it is based on the very real narrative of thousands of Jewish physicians who practiced through the ages. What was their…
Jan 16, 2025 · 52:33
WWI was a catastrophic event for the Austrian Empire, and the Jews immediately became unwelcome residents. When the Chancellor was assassinated it seemed that time was running…
Jan 7, 2025 · 54:30
Why did Vienna produce so many revolutionary Jews? How Jewish was Freud? Was Herzl always a Zionist? Did the Beis Yakov movement actually start in Vienna rather than Krakow?…
Dec 26, 2024 · 50:53
It has long been suspected that the BBC is anti-Israel and employs pro-Palestinian reporters and editors. But how do you prove suspicion? And how far does the betrayal go? Using…
Dec 18, 2024 · 56:48
In the 1800s Vienna was one of the world's major cities, yet does not seem to have produced religious leadership? It nevertheless underwent a metamorphosis, which left it the…
Dec 5, 2024 · 50:17
Unlike militant Islam, our enemies in the West don't want the Jews wiped out. But what they are aiming for is far more sinister. It is a battle between Sheker and Emess, that…
Nov 27, 2024 · 53:54
The ghetto walls were slowly coming down, but Mayer Anschel and Gutele refused to leave the Judengasse. Unusual opportunities arose for the Rothschilds when Napoleon opened a…
Nov 19, 2024 · 48:01
Denmark’s bankruptcy gave Rothschild the opportunity he had been pursuing for 30 years, leaving a wake of furious Christian bankers behind him. A branch opens in London and the…
Nov 12, 2024 · 49:43
The very name conjures up images of immense wealth, of banks and private government deals. It is accompanied by numerous conspiracy theories and unlikely legends. But the…
Nov 2, 2024 · 1:00
The question behind all our podcasts? What can we learn? How does it change us. Our matched funds campaign is now live. If you enjoy History for the Curious, Please sponsor our…
Oct 29, 2024 · 56:54
During the 20th century, a number of individuals devoted their lives to helping the Jewish People; determined, courageous and innovative. Their fundraising efforts had an…
Oct 14, 2024 · 55:24
His arrival to England was accompanied both by miracles and threats. Soon thereafter he was elected as the Av Beis Din in London, where he faced many battles: the non-religious…
Oct 1, 2024 · 43:32
Brought up in a village which did not have a minyan of Jews; a self-taught child genius. His life was shattered by the Russian civil war and the new anti-religious communist…
Sep 24, 2024 · 53:30
Jews paid the Crown for the privilege of getting married, divorced or converted. London ran into politics with its synagogues, Norwich became the first city for blood libels, yet…
Sep 17, 2024 · 44:39
Invited to settle by William the Conqueror, when Winchester was the capital city, the 220 year history of Jews in England is seen as a narrative of money-lending and expulsion.…
Sep 10, 2024 · 1:07:40
The Torah explicitly forbids lending money at interest, yet the Hetter Iska document seems to allow it. Is it legal? Should we all have one? Did the 17th century create a…
Aug 12, 2024 · 56:30
Rabbi Yossi Steiner spent the war years on the run - as a child - and survived through a series of miracles. He found himself alone in a ghetto, needing to take care of his 5…
Aug 11, 2024 · 1:01:10
Join our WhatsApp group for weekly exclusive content: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FEgoaCOQoyU2VX49SwA8Aw?s=cl&p=a&ilr=4 1945. The war is over and Germany is in chaos. But now the…
Aug 5, 2024 · 58:24
Berlin 1936 saw Germany win more Gold medals than any other country, while the world looked on. But at what price? How aware was the Church of Jewish persecution? What role did…
Jul 28, 2024 · 50:57
In 1944 X-troop were fighting in France. With heavy losses and secret identities, some of them would tragically be buried under a cross. By 1945 they had made their way to…
Jul 22, 2024 · 54:11
To donate tefillin for the soldiers, please click - https://bit.ly/historyforthecurioustefillin Forged through adversity and fuelled by the fate of their families who were…
Jul 11, 2024 · 39:53
To appreciate Rabbi Akiva Eger we need to understand his era; The cholera epidemic he lived through, the personalities of his generation as well as his rulings and how they were…
Jun 25, 2024 · 39:57
Famous as a scholar and lamdan, his life was beset by challenges and setbacks, all of which he faced with remarkable fortitude. As the leader of Central Europe's Jewry, the…
Jun 14, 2024 · 1:01:56
Unraveling the Mystery - Who was Moshe de Leon? How did the Zohar impact Jewish history? Is there a deep divide between Academics & Kabbalists. What did Rav Yaakov Emden write?…
Jun 2, 2024 · 53:05
In the 1200s Spanish Jewry faced great challenges within the community including Murder, Immorality & Defection. This was exacerbated by dangerous teachings within Kabbalah which…
May 24, 2024 · 41:35
The Golden Age was over but what drove Jews to settle in Christian Spain? What is the true story of the pirates in Cordoba? Why was the commentary of the Rif so vital and why did…
May 17, 2024 · 45:18
A unique world existed for two centuries in which a Jewish general lead Moslem armies into battle and authored 1,500 poems while Chasdai, the most famous Jew, discovered the…
May 7, 2024 · 34:39
The history of the Jews in Spain has always been part of our collective memory. But the real story starts 1,000 years earlier. Long before the Rishonim, flourishing communities…
Apr 24, 2024 · 34:12
Do synagogues have rights over membership? Why did a Chazan risk excommunication in Perpignan? Why were responsa printed in defiance of the author’s wishes? And the 1708 Chametz…
Apr 12, 2024 · 49:50
For centuries Jews faced restrictions building their shuls. Halachic questions arose across Europe concerning rights, ownership and use. And closer to our day, when communities…
Apr 2, 2024 · 53:17
In times of war and peace and throughout the centuries, Jews have asked questions. Some became the foundations of halacha, others were forgotten. In this episode we trace back…
Mar 26, 2024 · 36:13
Unlike the secular worldview, Jewish history looks at individuals and at details. And although we have closely followed the general conflict in Israel, we are at arm’s length…
Mar 18, 2024 · 49:15
To Watch This Podcast, click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRbtzDOtBAY&t=2021s A wide-ranging discussion with author & international broadcaster Douglas Murray, on the…
Mar 10, 2024 · 47:37
The Karaites arrive in Ponovezh, Lithuania; Seraya Shapshal abruptly changes direction; Ibn Ezra writes Zemirot [link below]; the Nazis preside over a Karaite debate; Voltaire…
Feb 25, 2024 · 40:55
Refugees arrived in Egypt from Toldeo in 1459, with ideas of their own. But as the centuries progressed, the Karaites spread out from the Middle East. Crimea became the…
Feb 14, 2024 · 46:14
1,200 years ago, a new form of Judaism was created, and it has lasted through the centuries. How far did Karaism spread? Did the Rambam allow them to be circumcised? Did Islam…
Feb 6, 2024 · 37:57
When Europe became the battleground between opposing armies, a very unlikely candidate met up with the Pope and proposed a solution. It would involve the Jews, and start in the…
Jan 31, 2024 · 26:56
A moving, personal first-hand account of trial, tribulation and faith. Recorded live at the JLE. Chapters 00:00 The Kidnapping of Ori Danino 03:29 The Search for Ori 05:24 Ori's…
Jan 23, 2024 · 42:00
In 2004 Israel was prosecuted at the ICJ for building a barrier through the West Bank. But Israel didn’t bother to turn up. What changed in 2024? Why did South Africa in…
Jan 18, 2024 · 42:19
Why was Sir Moses Montefiore in Malta for Tisha B’Av? Who wrote the poem Bli Mazal (Out of Luck)? Which British politician suggested in 1841, that the Jews create an independent…
Jan 10, 2024 · 44:24
How did a small hole in a parchment create Crusader history? What do Chopin, Karl Marx, Alexander Dumas & Goethe have in common? Why would the Barons of Franconia insist that…
Jan 4, 2024 · 45:23
Did a Christian censor help the Jews of Bohemia? Who was Rav Sherira Gaon and why is the letter he wrote over 1,000 years ago, so important today? What brought Jews to America in…
Dec 26, 2023 · 1:13:20
Recorded in Jerusalem, this ground-breaking episode includes testimony based on eyewitnesses, linking together Israel’s Past, Present & Future. Are the Settlements illegal? Does…
Dec 15, 2023 · 1:01:24
A must listen! What rights to land did Jews have in Palestine? How does Israel explain the Deir Yassin massacre? Did they engage in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948?…
Dec 5, 2023 · 1:07:02
Featuring Rav Yitzchok Breitowitz & Rav Osher Weiss. How do we view War, Collateral Damage and Siege in Halacha? Did the Chafetz Chaim think that we can change the minds of…
Nov 22, 2023 · 54:40
The fate of 240 Jews still remains unknown… What are our spiritual obligations at this time? What does Jewish Law rule for these situations? And where does Advocacy fit into the…
Nov 9, 2023 · 0:58
Experience London in a very unique way by clicking the link below- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wHjkkNGKUk And please consider making a donation to allow us to continue the…
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Your podcast? Get the Podli badge for your site
