Martyrdom and the Formation of Ashkenazi Identity

Introduction

The power of identity is sometimes defined by that for which you are willing to die. This is a class on the Crusades and the role which martyrdom played in forming a particular Ashkenazi identity.

Mike Feuer

Rabbi Mike Feuer teaches Striving for the Divine, Rav Kook, and Jewish History at Pardes. He studied at Yeshivat HaMivtar, the Mir Yeshiva, and Sulam Yaakov, where he received rabbinic ordination and later served as Educational Director. Mike’s teaching combines rigorous textual analysis with a deep love of the poetry and spirituality found in Torah.

Since making aliyah in 2001, he has been the program director of a post-high school yeshiva and taught history, Jewish thought, and Bible in several Jerusalem yeshivot and midrashot. Today, as a consultant, spiritual counselor and creator of the Jewish Story podcast, Mike is driven by the power of story to shape our world.