Welcome to The Jewish Story! In this brief introductory episode, I introduce myself, give some background on this podcast, lay out a roadmap for Season One, and describe my primary sources for this history.

In this episode, we discuss the earliest evidence of Jewish existence, and follow the Jewish Kingdom from its inception through its various conflicts with neighbouring Empires, culminating in the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple.

In this episode, we follow the parallel paths of Jews after the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem. A temple is destroyed, a city is rebuilt, and the first public Torah reading is performed.

In this episode, Rabbi Matthew Leibl and I sit down to discuss the first eight centuries of Jewish history, and their relevance to modern Jewish life.

In this episode, we watch the Ptolemies and Seleucids battle over control of Israel, follow the intrigue of Jewish elites fighting for the position of High Priest, hear of the brutal Greek repression of Jewish practice, and see the rise of a rebellion.

In this episode, we follow the rise and fall of the Hasmonean dynasty, and our Jewish story becomes enmeshed with Roman history.

In this episode, we follow Herod the Great's rise to power, watch Judea devolve into chaos under the rule of successively unstable Roman Emperors, and witness a climactic and devastating showdown between the Jews and their Roman occupiers.

In this episode, I sit down with Sherry Wolfe-Elazar, a Jewish educator (and my former elementary school teacher) to discuss the Greek and Roman periods of Jewish history, and what lessons modern-day Jews can learn from the past.