It’s not often that we get the chance to engage with Jewish history through the lens of the weekly parsha. But when Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin was approached to create a series for the Orthodox Union’s All Parsha app, an opportunity was created. After years of teaching a Jewish history shiur at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, and subsequently at the Young Israel of Teaneck, Rabbi Bashevkin is now offering his insights in the All Parsha series, “Reading Jewish History in the Parsha,” and capturing our collective history and its relationship to the passages we read in shul every week.
As a young high school student at DRS in Woodmere, Rabbi Bashevkin recalls the spark which led him on this path: a Thursday night mishmar led by Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz, during which Rabbi Lebowitz gave a “mesmerizing” talk about the battle between Rav Yaakov Emden and Rav Yonatan Eybeschutz. The young Rabbi Bashevkin later found out that the information came from a tape from Rabbi Shnayer Leiman, the world-renowned scholar, and began listening to similar tapes—and the rest is history, so to speak.
Rabbi Bashevkin also began attending shiurim in his hometown of Lawrence led by Rabbi Dr. Ari Bergmann. After pursuing his rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, as well as a masters in Jewish history from the Bernard Revel Graduate School, Rabbi Bashevkin was asked to come give a shiur at the hashkama minyan at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, which he modeled after the the fascinating shiurim from Rabbi Dr. Bergmann.
“[Rabbi Bergmann’s] shiurim captured me because they really made the Chumash come alive,” said Rabbi Bashevkin. “It really opened my eyes to learning in a way that I had never experienced before.”
Some years later, Rabbi Bashevkin made the move to the “Country Club” section of Teaneck and joined the hashkama minyan at the Young Israel of Teaneck. “I was kind of miserable when I first moved here, and someone suggested that I take over the hashkama shiur that was previously given by a neighbor of mine,” he explained, noting that this move was the impetus to eventually making his series for the All Parsha app. “This project would not exist had I moved to another community—it was really the enthusiasm and the excitement of everyone that made me do it. I see it as a chevra of sorts; we really come together every Shabbos and I am so incredibly grateful. This shiur is a love letter to the Country Club section of Teaneck.”
After five or so years of teaching his shiur at the Young Israel of Teaneck, Rabbi Bashevkin was approached by the team at All Parsha to see if he would be interested in contributing to the app. “I never really considered it because I don’t see myself in the space of giving regular parsha vortlach. But they told me that I had a unique audience that they were trying to reach, and I offered the content of this shiur that I had been giving.”
Among the variety of the shiurim that are available on the All Parsha app, Rabbi Bashevkin sees his series, “Reading Jewish History in the Parsha,” as a creative way for people to engage with Jewish history, using the familiar topics in the weekly parsha as a springboard for exploration.
“Jewish history is an under-appreciated subject, and allows you to confront the vitality of what it means to be a Jew. Even in the modern age, your contemporary identity is understood better by what you understand about your past.” Rabbi Bashevkin was ultimately excited to unify his audience with that of All Parsha—and further the development of the “book culture” he has worked so hard to culminate via his podcast, “18Forty.”
“I stopped reading fiction in seventh grade,” said Rabbi Bashevkin. “By the time I was in yeshiva, I began to really read strategically … focusing on one subject at a time and really learning something.” He added that reading is something he loves to encourage, launching an online movement called “I Read This Over Shabbos,” where people can share what books they’ve read. So when developing his shiurim, Rabbi Bashevkin wanted everyone to have access to the reading material. “Most people don’t want the sources in Chicago or MLA format … they just want a book or article recommendation. Books are the doorway to everything you need to know about life.”
He continued, “I want my audience to know that I’m not just reading these ideas to you. I’m trying to build and encourage you to walk through doorways and engage with ideas; that’s why I called it ‘Reading Jewish History in the Parsha.’”
Rabbi Bashevkin shared that he hopes listeners to his shiurim on the All Parsha app will realize that Jewish history and learning the parsha are the same story unfolding with two different narrators. “I’m hoping people will walk away with an excitement to want to learn more about our own story. This is your story … the most exciting one in all of world history.”
“Reading Jewish History in the Parsha” is available on the Orthodox Union All Parsha app, which can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play.
Channa Fischer is the digital editor at The Jewish Link.
