About - History and The Bible - 30 Audio CD Series

How does the history of the Bible impact us today? Noted Jewish historian Rabbi Berel Wein uncovers the historical context of Biblical events in order to understand the origins of the Jewish people. Explore Creation's challenge in the 21st century and the uneven beginnings of the Jewish people in all our family struggles. Follow the conquest of the land of Israel and the establishment of both military and religious rule through its initial rise to greatness.


Features - History and The Bible - 30 Audio CD Series

Individual Lectures in the Series:

• Egypt, Feudalism and Imperialism - Egyptology meets Bible history in this fascinating lecture. With an analysis of the history and culture of Ancient Egypt, Rabbi Wein provides the backdrop of the story of Jewish enslavement in world history's earliest empire.
• Israel and Egypt - The Talmudic rabbis teach that the Jewish sojourn in Egypt set the pattern for all future exiles. At first, with Joseph at the helm of political power, the Jews enjoyed a "protected minority" status in Egypt, but in the final 80 years, Egypt turned against them, conscripting them into slavery and attempting genocide against them. With heartrending details of Jewish suffering before the Exodus, Rabbi Wein draws a chillingly accurate parallel between Ancient Egypt and Nazi Germany.
• The Exodus - The miracles surrounding the Exodus from Egypt are both a watershed event in Jewish history and make up the most exciting sections of the Bible. Yet for all the numerous miracles God performed on behalf of the Jews - the ten plagues, the splitting of the Reed Sea, and the manna that sustained them in the desert - Jewish faith is based on a commitment independent of miracles. That commitment is the Torah, the ultimate purpose of our freedom.
  
  
  
  
• Joshua & Judges - Of all phases of in Biblical history, the period of Judges is the closest parallel to our present world. The Jews were restored to their rightful homeland in the Land of Israel, but they were not unified. Even the Mishkan lost much of its centrality to the Jewish people. Rabbi Wein illustrates this fractious period in which the Jews were beset by internal and external wars, never to be resolved until the rising of Deborah the Prophetess whose victory won the Jews 40 years of peace.
• Judges  - The later Judges in Israel were a varied group, but each was uniquely suited to lead his generation. Rabbi Wein retells the pivotal events under the rules of Gideon, Jephtah, and Samson. Each was a fearsome warrior, and in the cases of Jephtah and Samson, their lives were wrought with controversy.
• Samuel and Saul - The Talmudic Rabbis teach that Samuel was equal to Moses and Aharon for his unification of the Jewish people and strengthening them in the path of Torah. Despite this, the Jewish people opted to replace him with a king, so he anointed the humble and righteous Saul. Saul's tragic descent is the result of human weakness in the face of power, an eternal and sobering moral lesson.
• David - David is the "renaissance man" of Biblical history: Torah scholar, warrior, Psalmist, and king. But like many men of talent, he attracted jealousy and was beset by enemies his entire life, from King Saul to his own sons. Rabbi Wein examines the glorious accomplishments of King David who led the Jews into their Golden Age and whose reign is the forerunner of the Messianic era.
• Solomon - The Jewish people reached its peak under the reign of King Solomon, but with every rise comes a fall. Called "the wisest of all men," King Solomon is a particularly complex figure in the Bible. Rabbi Wein attempts to reconcile the seemingly contradictory accounts of Solomon within Torah commentary, bringing us a very human and tragic picture.
• The Divided Kingdom - The events that led to the division of the kingdom of Israel show how the arrogance of a few powerful men can have repercussions that last for centuries. Yerovam began his career as a religious zealot and critic of King Solomon, but he ended it as one of the great villains of Jewish history, an idolatrous king who led ten of the twelve tribes into grievous sin. This absorbing lesson from the ancients reminds us of a pattern oft-repeated in history, that egotism can destroy not only one man, but an entire people.
  
  
  
  
• The Prophets - Though prophecy is not exclusive to the Jewish people, Jewish prophets occupied a different role than any other prophets. While non-Jews consulted their prophets as oracles, Jewish prophets were messengers of G-d and therefore the conscience of the Jewish people. Each prophet delivered his message in his own individual style, and Rabbi Wein sheds light on their contributions as well as on how this supernatural phenomenon was manifest.
• Elijah, Aram and Shomron - Elijah the Prophet is probably the best known yet most mysterious of all the Jewish prophets. He rose to prominence at a time when the idolatrous King Ahab and Queen Jezebel forced all prophets into hiding, but he nonetheless stood firm and continued to exhort the Jewish people to return to G-d. Join Rabbi Wein in an exciting retelling of this famous Bible story, climaxing in the show-down at Mt. Carmel.
• The Fall of the North Kingdom - A Jewish nation based on idolatry is doomed to fall, and that is precisely what happened to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. After centuries of war and power struggle, Sanherib overtook the kingdom and sent the 10 tribes of Israel into exile, a tragedy from which the Jewish people has not yet overcome.
• The Judean Monarchy - The dynasty of the House of David presents a mixed picture. In an almost steady pattern, each succeeding king since Solomon was by turns righteous or an idolater, so that each king reversed whatever his predecessor accomplished. Rabbi Wein outlines the centuries of Davidic rule over the kingdom of Judea and points out the fatal error that made the exile inevitable.
• Hezekiah, Isaiah and Manesseh - Nothing is as tragic as a lost opportunity, and this is what King Hezekiah represented in Jewish history. He had the potential to be the Messiah and bring the redemption, but his own mistakes prevented it. Rabbi Wein delves into the reign of this great king, his conflicted relationship with his wicked son Manasseh, and his interplay with Isaiah, the most poetic of all Jewish prophets.
• Jeremiah - Because they were messengers of morality, the prophets were often unpopular, but Jeremiah, who prophesied the exile and the destruction of the Temple, was actually assaulted by the Jewish people. Yet despite this ill-treatment and despite seeing his prophecies fulfilled, he never lost hope and continued to pray for the Jewish people. Rabbi Wein's moving presentation of the life of Jeremiah is certain to inspire all listeners.
• Yohoyochin - "The Jewish Caligula" Yohoyochim was one of the last kings of Judea who was not only an idolater, he was responsible for the torture of the prophet Jeremiah. His son and successor Yohoyochin began his reign with a cruelty equaling his father's but in a dramatic turn of events, accepted Jeremiah's prophecy and returned to the ways of Hashem. With vivid illustrations from Tanach and Medrash, Rabbi Wein captures the spirit of the tumultuous years before the exile and delivers a powerful message about repentance.
  
  
  
  
• Assyria and Babylonia - These two idolatrous empires were the places of exile for the Jews of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judea respectively. Each had a distinct approach to dealing with the Jewish people, and by understanding their relationship to the Jews and their relationship to each other, we learn about one of the most important phases of Jewish history.
• Zedekiah - One of the bitter ironies of Jewish history is that Zedekiah, the final king of Judea, was a righteous man who was nevertheless unable to hold the kingdom together against the onslaught of Babylonia. Rabbi Wein explores the political intrigue and failed rebellion that led to the most profound tragedy of Jewish history, the destruction of the First Temple.
• Destruction of First Temple - The destruction of the First Temple was more than a pivotal event in Jewish history, it was a radical shift in our relationship with God. In this memorable lecture, Rabbi Wein addresses the spiritual and philosophical questions raised by the loss of the Temple and sheds light on the insights given by the Talmudic rabbis.
• Gedalya and Egypt - Jewish political intrigue did not end with the destruction of the Temple; rather, a small group who remained in the Land of Israel schemed to re-conquer Jerusalem. Rabbi Wein details their failed coup which led to the assassination of Gedalya and the deaths of many other Jews. These harrowing events, commemorated by a fast during the 10 Days of Repentance, carry a message of how even the righteous can err.
• The Babylonian Exile - Though the Jews suffered much cruelty at the hands of the Babylonians as they went into exile, within one generation, that cruelty ended and the exile became bearable. In fact, the Jewish community so flourished in Babylonia that the majority refused to leave when the prophet Ezra sounded the call to return to the Land of Israel. Drawing on the parallel to our comfortable and modern world, Rabbi Wein describes the conditions of the Babylonian exile and shows how the events of Purim represented a wake-up call to the Jewish people.

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