Podcast
Behind The Times - Mishpacha
Hosted by mishpachabehindthetimes · EN
Discover the critical moments and big concepts at the intersection of world and rabbinic history, with Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag. This is the Jewish past and present – as you’ve never heard it before.
15episodes
Episodes
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Eps 15. Football Fever
2d ago00:38:13Tap to summarizeThe urge to kick a ball is ancient — but what did both the Talmud Yerushalmi and Rav Shach have to say about sports obsession?
Transcribe →Eps 14. Back to Beaufort
1w ago00:32:31Tap to summarizeBuilt by knights, seized and retaken by the IDF, what is the secret of Lebanon's Crusader castle? Join Gedalia Guttentag as he explores the history, mystery, and strategic importance of Lebanon’s famed Crusader fortress.
Transcribe →Eps 13. Drone Deficit
2w ago00:32:55Tap to summarizeAfter the Yom Kippur War, a collection of Israeli tinkerers and visionaries pioneered unmanned warfare - so why was the IDF caught unawares by Hezbollah's deadly drones? Gedalia Guttentag breaks it down in this week's episode.
Transcribe →Eps 12. When East Met West
May 1800:51:46Tap to summarizeIn the summer of 1929, two worlds met as German Orthodox rabbis journeyed across Eastern Europe’s Torah centers. Join Rabbi Efraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag as they explore an encounter that foreshadowed the Torah world that would later rise from the ashes.
Transcribe →Eps 11. Purim: The Sequel
Apr 1500:45:47Tap to summarizeFrom Frankfurt to Rhodes, Jewish communities that have faced destruction and were rescued at the last minute went on to celebrate their salavation through a local Purim. Join Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag on a tour through the halachic meaning and liturgical innovations of Purim Sheini.
Transcribe →Eps 10. A Pesach history of blood libels, from William of Norwich to Tucker Carlson
Mar 3100:57:00Tap to summarizeAs claims of Jewish control over America’s president go mainstream, echoes of the medieval blood libel return. How did the Rishonim respond to the libels of their day, and what might Rav Elchonon Wasserman have said about today’s far-right resurgence?
Transcribe →Eps 9. The Holiest Rothschild
Feb 1000:51:19Tap to summarizeBaron Wilhelm (Shimon Wolf) von Rothschild: a Rothschild who chose an Orthodox life, backed yeshivas, advised emperors — and met a tragic end. Rabbi Efraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag uncover his remarkable story.
Transcribe →Eps 8. Khomeni's Jews
Jan 2701:01:23Tap to summarizeAs a new Iran showdown looms, history reminds us of the devil's bargain of the 1980s as thousands of Jews fled revolutionary Iran, and hundreds of Israelis moved in to build Khomeini's army. Do Israel and America really understand the land of the ayatollahs?
Transcribe →Ep. 7 The Baal Teshuva
Sep 1700:47:30Tap to summarizeIn an era when intellectuals were celebrities, Dr Nathan Birnbaum was a household name across the Jewish world. When one of the most famous secular Jews of the age rediscovered Hashem, assimilationists were confounded and Orthodoxy received a shot in the arm. Rabbi Efraim Zalman Galinsky and Gedalia Guttentag trace the impact of one of the modern era’s most famous Baalei Teshuva.
Transcribe →Ep 6. Forgotten Founder
Sep 1000:40:48Tap to summarizeTen years before Theodor Herzl attended the Dreyfus Trial, a Jewish law student from Vienna coined the term Zionism, and effectively founded the movement that Herzl later took over. But the titanic figure of Dr Nathan Birnbaum has been forgotten, because he abandoned Zionism, and underwent an odyssey that comprised Yiddish nationalism and ultimately led him to Agudas Yisroel. 90 years on, it’s clear that Nathan Birnbaum wasn’t the erratic personality that some detractors saw, but a visionary whose leadership should be remembered today.
Transcribe →