The Torah鈥檚 Take on Happiness
Nov 2, 2020 By Jan Uhrbach | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Moses鈥� final speech concludes with a declaration of the happiness of being a Jew: 鈥淗appy are you, O Israel!鈥滲ut does the Torah describe any individual as happy?Whilethe pursuit ofhappiness, as expressed in the Torah and its interpretations? Is the American ideal of happiness a Jewish concept at all?
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Spiritual Meaning and Inspiration in Hasidic Teaching
Oct 26, 2020 By Eitan Fishbane | Public Event video | Video Lecture
In this session we explore several powerful examples in whichhasidicspiritual masters read the Hebrew Bible figuratively in order to often playfully and brilliantly convey deep spiritual insights about the nature of life, of the world, and of God鈥榮 immanent presence in our lives.
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Gifts of Wisdom: The Historical Traditions and Values of the Ethical Will
Oct 19, 2020 By Stefanie B. Siegmund | Public Event video | Video Lecture
At pivotal moments that make us think about death鈥攅ncounterswith serious illness,the loss of loved ones,advancing age,orevenbringingchildren into our lives鈥攚eturnto lawyers to write or revise our wills.Writing awill is an opportunity toconsider our priorities aswe plan to distribute our estates to the people, organizations, and causes that we care about.What if you also tried to write a letter that would be readby your descendants,perhaps even at your funeral,about your values? What would you say? How does Judaism inform these values?
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Generosity, Gratitude, and Faith: Rav Eliyahu Dessler鈥檚 Integrative Approach to Creating a Meaningful Life
Oct 12, 2020 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Public Event video | Video Lecture
What is the relationship between our level of generosity and our beliefs, our attitudes, and our actions? ForRavEliyahu Dessler (1892-1953, England/Israel),love,faith,empathy,and social bondingareconsequencesof generosity鈥攏ot its causes.In this session, we will discussRavDessler鈥檚 insights and his vision for living meaningfully.
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Anticipating Death and Finding Satisfaction in Life: The Profound Wisdom of Kohelet
Oct 5, 2020 By David C. Kraemer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Wise people will have different views about what constitutesa鈥淟ife of Meaning.鈥滲ut no one researched this question more completely than the biblical author, Kohelet (Ecclesiastes). In this sessionwe review his reportinEcclesiastesch.2and evaluate his conclusions concerning what truly makes a life 鈥渨ell-lived.鈥�
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First Failures: Falling Apart and Starting Over in the Book of Genesis
Aug 10, 2020 By Jan Uhrbach | Public Event video | Video Lecture
The first book of the Torah is filled with stories of crisis, brokenness, disappointments, and failure, both human and Divine. What religiousmeaning can we derive from the Torah鈥檚 focus on failure rather than success? Through a close look at some of its key narratives, we will mine the Book of Genesis for strategies for living through difficulttimes, and as the grounding of a hopeful and resilient theology.
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Halakhic Responses to Past Pandemics
Aug 3, 2020 By Daniel Nevins | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Our ancestors have contended with outbreaks of disease over the centuries, and rabbis have often responded with daring halakhic activism. We will focus in particular on the case of Rabbi Haim Yosef David Azulai, who served at as the rabbinic leader of Leghorn (Livorno) in Italy, the home of a quarantine facility.
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Israel鈥檚 Prophets as Innovators During Crisis
Jul 27, 2020 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Prophets were social and political change-makers and theological mavericks. They offered bold responses to grave challenges that enabled their communities to survive crisis and that paved the way for Judaism. This session explores how prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah offered innovation in the face of destruction.
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