For thousands of years, Jews have been exiled from their land and forced to wander from land to land living under the rule of other people who were often hostile to them.

A discussion about the story of the Jewish exile, why we have wandered for so long and what we have achieved during our exile.

In early medieval times a kingdom emerged in Southern Ukraine where the royal family and many aristocrats converted to Judaism. While this Jewish led kingdom of Khazaria was short lived, its existence has fascinated Jews from the time the kingdom came into existence until today. It even gave birth to the notorious Khazar conspiracy theory claiming Ashkenazic Jewry descends from Khazars.

Most Jewish families have unique Jewish sounding family names. Where do those family names come from? When did we start using Jewish family names? Can we tell from our family name where we came from or who our ancestors are?

One of the core Jewish beliefs (and perhaps most challenging) is that all who died will come back to life in a future time. Why do we believe in resurrection? Who will come back to life? How will we all come back to life? What will it be like?

A discussion about the important Jewish belief in resurrection.

What is the process of making Kosher wine? What makes wine non-Kosher? Why do some only drink wine that is Mevushal? A fascinating discussion about what makes wine kosher

Jewish traditions tell us of 70 nations who speak 70 languages. Who are those 70 nations? What are the 70 languages? How did they form? What relationship do they have to modern nations and languages?

Learn about the historic 70 nations and what they mean to us today.

Simchat Torah is the most joyous day in the Jewish calendar when we celebrate the completion of the Torah by dancing in the synagogue with the Torah scrolls. When did we start celebrating Simchat Torah? Why do we celebrate by dancing with the Torah scrolls?

A fascinating discussion about the celebration of Simchat Torah

The Torah commands us to hold 4 kinds of plants together on the festival of Sukkot. How do we identify them? What do we do with them? What is the significance?

A fascinating discussion about the story behind the Lulav and Etrog that we shake on Sukkot.

One of the strangest (and for many problematic) customs is Kapparot. In its traditional form, Kapparot is when people swing chickens around their heads and then slaughter them as a form of atonement (Kappara) before Yom Kippur.

Many people find the tradition of Kapparot very disturbing. Where did this strange custom come from? Why is it done? How does Judaism allow the chicken to suffer and be killed because of our sins?

A fascinating and illuminating discussion about the strange tradition of Kapparot.

One of the most fascinating and most challenging stories in the Torah is the story of creation found at the very beginning. The story is the basis of the most fundamental belief in Judaism; that we were created by G-d. Yet not only are there so many details that do not match modern science, many of the details don't make sense at face value and contradict each other.