Jason Blau calls himself a mindset coach. Along his journey, he could have used some of the advice he now offers. Because he experienced stress and anxiety so deeply that it ultimately destroyed his career, his marriage, and even his relationship with his closest relatives. Today he’s in a much better place, finding a path […]

As a young child, Barbara Irwin was raised in a family that didn’t keep Shabbos and didn’t know much about other Jewish practices. In fact, her earliest exposure to Jewish observance almost pushed her off the path.  This is her story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at tachlismedia.com

In honor the Daf Yomi cycle commencing the study of Maseches Nazir, Jewish History Soundbites is proud to present in conjunction with the All Torah platform https://alltorah.org/ the story of the ‘Rav Hanazir’ Rav David Cohen (1887-1972). Having grown up in a rabbinic family in Lithuania, he studied in the yeshivos of Volozhin, Radin & Slabodka, before pursuing a general education in St. Petersburg, Freiburg, Germany & Basel, Switzerland. It was while in Switzerland during World War I that the most formative event of his life took place, upon meeting his lifelong rebbi Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook. He immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1922, and was appointed to the faculty of Merkaz Harav. It was here that he assumed the status of a modern day Nazir, and abstained from haircuts and wine consumption for the remainder of his life. Along with other ascetic practices such as veganism, long silences and wanderings in the Judean desert, he wished to attain prophecy and prepare himsel

As the oldest Jewish cemetery in Eastern Europe, the old cemetery in Lublin contains some historical treasures and great personalities. One of the prominent ones we visit on trips is Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz, the Chozeh of Lublin (1745-1815). One of the primary students of Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk, the Chozeh became a teacher of the masses, and facilitated the spread of the Chassidic movement in central Poland.  Though he faced opposition, the Chozeh’s modesty and leadership preserved and his impact was seen through both the masses who sought his counsel and blessing, as well as through his many students who emerged as the next generations leaders of the chassidic movement across Galicia, Poland and Hungary.  For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at:  yehuda@yehudageberer.com   Subscribe To Our Podcast on:  PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites You can email Yehuda at yehuda@

In part one of Jeff Cohen’s conversation with Aliza Bulow, she told the story of how she grew up in a non-Jewish home but converted to Judaism at the age of 16. And how, in no time at all, she was studying Torah, doing Mitzvahs, living in Israel, joining the army, and finding a marriage […]

Aliza Bulow’s Jewish journey weaves an intricate path through conversion to Judaism at a very young age and, much later, tragedy. That journey, which included stops in New York, Israel, Russia and Denver, required tremendous faith along the way.    This is her story.   Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more […]

Harvey Herbert grew up Jewish, but so secular that he has memories of opening presents under an Xmas tree. A traumatic incident in a hospital was but one of the  divine bread crumbs from Hashem that completely altered the path of Herbert’s Jewish journey.    This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis […]

Based in the Lodz suburb of Aleksandrow, the Aleksander chassidic dynasty was one of the largest and most prominent in prewar Poland. Established as a branch of Vorka-Peshischa in the mid 19th century, it grew under the dynamic leadership of successive generations of the Danziger family at its helm. The Bais Yisrael Yeshiva network contributed to its growth in the early 20th century. Aleksander gained further renown during its 30 year dispute with its arch rival - the Ger chassidic community based near Warsaw. Although Aleksander attempted to remain apolitical, they did nominally join Agudas Yisrael towards the end of the 1930’s. Although given an opportunity to escape, the last great prewar leader of Aleksander Rav Yitzchak Menachem Mendel Danziger - the Akeidas Yitzchak, chose to remain with his followers. Having escaped from Lodz to the Warsaw Ghetto, he was deported along with his family and followers and martyred in Treblinka in the summer of 1942. A group of Aleksander survivor

Thomas Sablosky, a secular Jew, became Tuvia Sablosky, an observant Jew, through an amazing journey that he believes was guided by Hashem. He’s here today to share that saga, including the obstacles he overcame to make sure his father received a proper Jewish burial.  This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media […]

Aaron London had a dream to serve in the US military. Little did he know that he’d be serving Hashem as a nurse and educator while making the transition from agnostic to fully observant Jew. This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more at tachlismedia.com

Rav Moshe Rosen - the Nezer Hakodesh (c.1870-1957) was an early leader of American orthodoxy. Having served as a communal rabbi in Lithuania for three decades, he was the one who discovered the Chazon Ish as a young man in the town of Chveidan. In the late 1920’s he immigrated to the United States and settled in Brownsville. He served as the first rosh yeshiva of Torah Vodaath, and later served as a rabbi in Brownsville, whilst continuing to author his multi volume Nezer Hakodesh and other works. He served at the helm of the Agudath Harabbonim and was involved in many early initiatives of Jewish education during his thirty years in a leadership position of American Orthodoxy.    For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at:  yehuda@yehudageberer.com   Subscribe To Our Podcast on:  PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Nissim Black’s journey to Judaism is one of the most unlikely stories you’ll ever hear. He was born to two rappers, and lived in a home where drugs and violence were the norms. He also practised Islam and Christianity before he found what he was looking for – Torah Judaism. His spiritual journey is intertwined […]

The expulsion of the Jews from the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 15th century was a period of great upheaval, as a Spanish-Portuguese diaspora formed in Western Europe and the Mediterranean basin. At the same time, many conversos remained in their home country, while many others emigrated and attempted to rejoin the Jewish community.  As a result, there arose in communities such as Amsterdam, London, northern Italy and other places the beginnings of Jewish Enlightenment and early secularization, as the confrontation with the ideas of the Enlightenment and the modern world brought the challenge of Jewish identity to the fore. Jewish secularization did not commence in Mendelssohn’s Berlin of the 18th century, nor in Eastern Europe of the late 19th century. Secularization has been a slow but steady process through the 15th-18th centuries. Heretics and tragic figures from Converso families in Amsterdam such Uriel De Costa and Baruch Spinoza pioneered Jewish secularism, while an Ital

Aurus Sanchez underwent one of the most remarkable journeys to Jewish observance you’ll ever hear about. He was a Christian missionary with plans to convert Jews until he uncovered some crucial information about his ancestry – and the Torah – that completely changed his life’s path.    This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is […]

Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap (1882-1951) was an important rabbinical leader in Yerushalayim during the first half of the 20th century. A product of the Old Yishuv, he was a student of Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, Rav Hirsh Mechel Shapiro and several others before becoming a lifelong close student of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook. He served as the founding rabbi of the Shaarei Chesed and Rechavia neighborhoods, as well as rosh yeshiva of Merkaz Harav and his own yeshiva Bais Zevul in Shaarei Chesed.   For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at:  yehuda@yehudageberer.com   Subscribe To Our Podcast on:  PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Peter Himmelman’s musical career has spanned more than four decades. His accomplishments are numerous and diverse; he’s a Grammy and Emmy-nominated solo artist, children’s songwriter, film and television soundtrack composer. His discography includes more than 40 albums. He’s also a visual artist and a baal teshuvah who’s balanced his busy musical career with Jewish observance.  […]

The story of the confrontation of the US and the Holocaust is done well in the recently produced Ken Burns documentary ‘The US & the Holocaust’. It purports to cover the entirety of the Holocaust from an American perspective, and is by no means limited to the story of potential rescue. From the immigration quotas, to American anti-Semitism and the isolationist movement, to the war itself.  There’s the story of how individual Jews confronted the reality of the developing Holocaust knowing that their relatives were facing impending doom. The questions of what role was played by the American people, the Roosevelt administration, Congress and the State Department - in particular senior officials such as Breckinridge Long - are duly analyzed. The response of the American Jewish community as a collective as well as individuals is explored as well. In addition, noble endeavors of the US government such as the Treasury Department’s role in the forming of the War Refugee Board is recorded

Brian Silvey has engineered an impressive career in Information Technology. But he’s also engineered quite a journey to Jewish observance. That involved some pretty interesting twists and turns, including his witnessing an ugly incident involving vandalism that would help turn him to the Torah. This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media […]

Jackie Danicki is a business consultant and freelance journalist. Her writing has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, Advertising Age, and the New York Observer. Danicki’s path to success has been intertwined with her unusual and fascinating path to Torah Judaism.    This is her story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis Media podcast. Learn more […]

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik - the Bais Halevi (1820-1892) was the founder of the Soloveitchik/Brisk dynasty. Following his studies in Volozhin and a short stint as a rosh yeshiva in Minsk, he was appointed assistant rosh yeshiva in Volozhin alongside the Netziv. In 1864 he departed to assume the rabbinate in Slutzk, where he remained until 1875 when he retired to Warsaw. In 1879 he moved once again this time to Brisk, where he served as rabbi until his passing.   For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at:  yehuda@yehudageberer.com   Subscribe To Our Podcast on:  PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com