The struggle between the parochial and the cosmopolitan is a defining tension of the 19th century – for Europe as a whole and the Jews in particular. In this episode we will update our understanding of chassidut as it battles with the Galician Haskalah, meet the figure of the radical socialist Jew in the person…

The remarkable persistence of Am Yisrael as an ethnic entity, despite the best efforts of emancipation, is what poses the Jewish Question to European society. And while Europe is asking what to do with the Jews, the Jews will be asking what we do with ourselves. In both cases it will be the power of…

As the Emperor of France spreads the ideals of the revolution through Europe, the question arises – is emancipation a right, a privilege or a threat? Every action had an equal and opposite reaction, and this episode will outline the origins of both the Reform and Orthodox movements. Want to help tell the Jewish Story?…

Mendelssohn’s story continues, but one man does not a movement make. The Berlin Haskalah was a whole generation of transition, one which struggled with the boundaries of Torah, society and identity. And one which saw some of the first battle lines of modernity being drawn. Want to help tell the Jewish Story? Become a Patron:…

Moses Mendelssohn was a critical philosopher of the German Enlightenment and the most controversial figure of the Jewish Enlightenment. Whether you think that he was a light to his generation or a boundary breaker who led many to sin, his life story deserves to be heard. Want to help tell the Jewish Story? Become a…

Just when you think the Sabbateans have had their last say in the story, one of the greatest conflicts of 18th century rabbinic culture breaks out. This episode explores the controversy between R’ Yaakov Emden and R’ Yonatan Eybeschuetz and how it contributed to the crisis of European Jewry’s encounter with the Enlightenment. Want to…

Within two decades after the Baal Shem Tov’s death, a movement sprung up from his revolutionary thoughts. This new current of Jewish life did not emerge without controversy; and as the chasidim and their opponents were struggling over the soul of Am Yisrael, the body of Polish Jewry was suddenly split in three by the…

The institutions of the middle ages have already run their course, and the way ahead into modernity is far from clear for Polish Jewry. Out of this darkness and confusion a new light will emerge, infusing religious life with vitality and joy. This is the first of two episodes on the rise of the Ba’al…

Baruch Spinoza the was the most famous philosopher the Jews ever produced, but he had to leave the fold in order to speak his truth. He crowned reason king of creation at the same time as the mythic imagination of the Sabbatean heretics was coming to a boil. Want to help tell the Jewish Story?…

The appearance of Shabbetai Zvi evoked a tidal wave of messianic hope which swept Jews and Christians in its wake. Was his advent just a case of the “perfect storm” conditions in history, or was there something more fundamental to the Jewish story which drove his ascent? Want to help tell the Jewish Story? Become…