Episode 2 - Dr. Yonatan Kohn - Rashbatz and Immigration

Second Episode: "Rashbatz and Immigration", onthe life and legacy of Rabbi Shimon b. Zemah Duran (Rashbatz), a 14th–15th century rabbi and physician. The conversation with Dr. Yonatan Kohn traces the vibrant but short-lived Jewish community of Majorca, its destruction during the anti-Jewish riots of 1391, and Rashbatz’s forced escape to Algiers, where he abandoned medicine to become a rabbinic leader. Dr. Kohn highlights Rashbatz’s struggles with loss, identity, and the trauma of exile, as well as his evolving views on Conversos and their place in Jewish law. Despite his displacement, Rashbatz became a prolific author, producing works that sustained and reshaped North African Jewish communities. The discussion illustrates how trauma, resilience, and faith intersect in history, while offering fresh insights into the complexities of Sephardic Jewish life before the 1492 expulsion.