Jewish History Moment

06/11/2025

PODCAST: The ruins of ancient Beersheba attest to the importance of the city where Abraham lived. But the most intriguing artifact is the horned altar. This is one of the idolatrous “high places” King Hezekiah ordered torn down. Or was it King Josiah? Find out as we delve into the historical debate between Prof. Yohanan Aharoni, a refugee from warn-torn Germany and founder of the Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology, and IDF Chief of Staff Yigael Yadin, a war hero who went on to become a noted archeologist.

Did the Biblical Patriarchs once walk these sandy trails? Find out as we explore the breathtaking Tel Be’er Sheva archaeological site and learn about the controversial altar.

29/10/2025

Yael Driver is the editor of the new book Dance of the Fire: The Jewish Brigade in WWII: Facts, Myths, Appraisal, based on the memoir of her father Shlomo Shamir, covert commander of the Brigade. She sheds some light on little-known daring missions to rescue Holocaust Survivors following the Brigade’s fighting against the Axis Forces.

She explains how these Jewish volunteers from the Land of Israel fought in the Italian campaign and stayed in war-torn Europe after the war ended to track down Holocaust survivors. Through the process of her supporting research she met not only families of her father’s comrades and the family of one of her father’s British commanders, but also the family of one Italian P.O.W. who her father must have assisted. She further discusses the saga of Enzo Sereni and other daring acts during World War II.

Interview with Yael Driver, daughter of IDF Major-General Shlomo Shamir, who during WWII served as the covert commander of the Jewish Brigade.

23/10/2025

Interview with Cynthia Hannah of the new online course, The Land God Chose: What the Bible ACTUALLY says about Israel. Cynthia has spent over a decade studying Hebrew Scriptures and the wisdom of Chassidic, Kabbalistic, and Torah masters in Jerusalem. But it was after October 7th that she felt a profound calling to create a course that would cut through media distortion and reveal what the Bible actually says about the Land of Israel—its eternal covenant with the Jewish people, and how God’s redemptive plan is unfolding through the events we see in the world today.

Cynthia is also the author of Miracles from Israel: Biblical Promises Fulfilled, a powerful exploration of modern-day miracles unfolding as the Jewish people return to their ancestral land.

Discussion of the outpouring of pro-Israel sentiment in the face of global anti-Semitism and Hamas terrorism.

04/09/2025

PODCAST: The diary of Glikl Bas Leib of Hamburg, begun in the 1690s, holds invaluable historic insight into Jewish life in Europe. Meet Mat and Julie Tonti who are turning Glikl’s Yiddish writings into a graphic novel for modern readers. The husband-and-wife team discuss their journey to Germany where they visited Hamburg, Hamelin and other towns to investigate the life, love and loss of a woman whose experiences mirror our own today.

Learn about the mysterious disappearance of Avraham Metz and Aaron Ben Moses and the brave woman determined to find their murderers, one of the many stories of 17th century European Jewish life described in the diaries.

The diary of Glikl Bas Leib of Hamburg, begun in the 1690s, holds invaluable historic insight into Jewish life in Europe.

21/08/2025

The underdogs, Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball defeated the Soviet team in a dramatic game that led to the championship.

Meet Tal Brody, the American Jew who made Aliyah and led the team to victory when he uttered the now famous words, “we’re on the map, and we are staying on the map – not only in sports, but in everything.” The dramatic reaction of Israel beating the Russian Soviet Union Red Army team led to cheering Israeli fans dancing through the streets.

Plus, coach Ralph Klein, the German-born Jew who survived the N**i Holocaust and became a sports hero, Aulcie Perry, who found a new home in the Jewish homeland, Miki Berkovich, Lou Silver, Shuki Schwartz, Shmuel Machrovsky and the others that helped clinch the FIBA European Champions Cup.

The Russia vs. Israel basketball game that changed Israeli sports and led to all-night cheering in the streets.

06/08/2025

Interview with musician Yativ Leucher on the Aharit Hayamim festival (taking place August 7, 2025), a “Jewish indie rave festival” held every year in Gush Etzion.

He tells the story of his grandparents who helped found Kibbutz Masuot Yitzhak and both taken hostage by the Jordanians during the War of Independence in 1948. His grandmother Rachel Doron was separated from her infant son when she stayed behind to broadcast the code “Malkah naflah” -- the queen has fallen, a code for the Kfar Etzion massacre, allowing others to escape.

Today, the family hosts the annual Aharit Hayamim festival, which this year features Din Din Aviv, Tomer Yosef, Laivy Miller, Bini Landau, Nissim Black, Nuriel, Sinai Tor, Muna Camuna and more.

Yativ Leuchter talks about how his grandparents lost their kibbutz and the family’s eventual return where they now host the Aharit Hayamim festival.

25/07/2025

Learn about the picturesque agricultural community of Beit Zayit, just north of Jerusalem, founded by hard working Jewish immigrants, one of whom discovered ancient fossilized dinosaur tracks.

Learn about the struthiomimus, a two-legged dinosaur that once roamed the land. These are the only dinosaur track fossils discovered anywhere in Israel or the Middle East and one of the only such finds of this period in the entire world.

Meet Prof. Moshe Avnimelech who moved to Israel to become a paleontologist after serving in the Polish army in World War I and forming a Zionist group there.

Meet Mordechai “Motke” Sofer a veteran of the Lehi (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel) who was arrested by the British and later became a tour guide in Beit Zayit.

And the Schwarzwald family of Beit Zayit who only wanted to clean the land by the shed and dug up a breathtaking a scientific discovery.

History of Beit Zayit and the dinosaur tracks discovered in a family’s back yard.

10/07/2025

PODCAST: Interview with Nili Salem on her new book Awesome Blast: 40 Days of Shofar Intentions, Soul-Healing, and Spiritual Return. She discusses the history of the ram’s horn in Jewish tradition and spiritual religious ritual. Plus her adventures as a Jewish educator in remote places including having her shofar confiscated by the authority in Peru, slaughtering a lamp with the Bene Efraim community of India, celebrating Passover seder with the Lemba tribe in Zimbabwe, and singing in Hebrew on an island in Indonesia.

Nili Salem, author of a new book on the ram’s horn, wants to “trend shofarage for the coming of Moshiach.”

25/06/2025

Travel with me to a picturesque harp workshop to meet the husband-and-wife team of Micah and Shoshanna Harrari who build hand-crafted wooden harps based on the Bible. Learn about the history of the ancient Megiddo lyre, King David’s harp, the secret of the Psalms and hear music from one of the 10-stringed instruments. Plus, the snow-storm story of how the Harraris ended up in Israel. https://benbresky.substack.com/p/biblical-jewish-harps-make-a-comeback

05/06/2025

PODCAST: Col. David “Mickey” Marcus gave his life defending Jerusalem during the War of Independence.

Find out how a Jewish kid from the rough streets of Brooklyn ended up a West Point graduate and part of the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War II. His work with Holocaust refugees inspired him to join the fledgling Israel Defense Force.

The film Cast a Giant Shadow is based on his legacy, starring Kirk Douglas, who saw the role as a personal reflection.

Plus, his work standing up to New York mobsters like Tough Joey Rao and Lucky Luciano.
Lilit Marcus

https://open.substack.com/pub/benbresky/p/jewish-war-hero-david-mickey-marcus

28/05/2025

Dr. Ido Lahav Noy was an art historian specializing in medieval Jewish art. But when COVID-19 hit, he rediscovered his childhood passion for Garbage Pail Kids and found others who grew up in the 1980s felt the same.

Released in Hebrew as Havurat HaZevel, this fad continues to have a lasting impact on Israeli politics in election campaigns satirizing politicians from both the right wing and left wing. The pop culture phenomenon led to multiple spin-offs from secular, religious Zionist and haredi communities with rabbi cards and more.

Plus, learn about how Art Spiegelman, award-winning writer of the Holocaust memoir Maus created the Garbage Pail Kids trading cards and Wacky Packages. And the story behind Bazooka Joe.

Interview with Dr. Ido Noy on Havurat HaZevel (Garbage Pail Kids in Hebrew) and their continuing legacy in Israeli society.

22/05/2025

https://benbresky.substack.com/p/the-man-who-saved-safed-earthquakes
Interview with Rabbi Mordechai Gershon on the first ever English translation of the seminal Hasidic work Bat Ayin.

Find out how this forgotten treasure of Kabbalistic thought has grown in popularity in recent years. Today thousands attend the annual memorial of Rabbi Avraham Dov Ber Auerbach of Avritch (circa 1760 – 1840) who left a prominent career in Ukraine to return to the land of Israel and live in Tzfat (Safed).

Hear the story of how he survived the great Safed earthquake and then led the efforts to help the victims and rebuild the city. Also, his miraculous rescue from kidnappers and how he fell in love with the land where stones shine like precious gems.

Rabbi Avraham Dov Ber Auerbach of Avritch, author of the Bat Ayin and his miraculous story of survival.