Hope Through Tears

Oct 4, 2024 By Joel Seltzer | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah

The haftarah for the second day of Rosh Hashanah echoes both the violence and the promise of the Akedah, the Binding of Isaac, as Israel is described as 鈥渢he people escaped from the sword鈥� (Jer. 31:2), while God promises, 鈥淭here is hope for your future鈥攜our children shall return to their country鈥� (31:17).

Petition or Protest

Aug 30, 2024 By Adam Zagoria-Moffet | Commentary | Re'eh | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

Our Sages saw Hannah as trying to trap God into offering blessing, and they interpreted the same from another unlikely context, one that also occurs during this month鈥檚 Torah readings. We read about the apparently bizarre mitzvah ofshilu鈥檃h haken, the sending away of the mother bird.Deut. 22:6鈥�7is the sole description of this shockingly precise mitzvah: 鈥淚f you happen upon a bird鈥檚 nest while on the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, whether with chicks in it or still-unhatched eggs, and the mother bird is sitting on the eggs or chicks, you shall not take the mother with the young. Instead, chase away the mother bird and take the young鈥攊n order that you be well and your days long.鈥�

What is the Torah, Actually? Preparing for Shavuot

Jun 3, 2024 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Shavuot

We鈥檝e heard its stories; we鈥檝e heard it chanted in synagogue; we鈥檝e seen it hoisted in the air displaying handwritten ink on parchment; we鈥檝e taken classes on it. But what, actually, is the Torah? A law code? A history book? An ancient novel? A saga? None of these categorizations quite fits. In this session, we consider what defines the distinctive genre of the Torah, where this genre comes from, how it reappears in Jewish culture over the ages鈥攁nd what addressing these questions can teach us about the Jewish religion.

From Symposium to Seder: How The Rabbinic Adoption of Roman Party Conventions Became Our Passover Seder

Apr 15, 2024 By Robert Harris | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Pesah

In the years following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Jewish observance of Passover underwent a seismic shift. In lieu of the now impossible sacrificial Temple ritual, the rabbis adopted the Roman symposium in order to create a new type of festival meal, one that was rooted in new rituals and intellectual discourse. Together we explore what led to the rabbinic decision to conduct the Seder in this way, rather than opting for a different way to commemorate Passover, such as instructing the Jewish people to perform the sacrifice in their homes. We also examine some of the questions and answers in the Haggadah which are central features of the Roman symposium and core to our Haggadah.

Across the Divide: Tips for Hard Conversations at the Seder Table

Apr 15, 2024 By Jan Uhrbach | Commentary | Pesah

Many of us are approaching seder this year with concern about seemingly unbridgeable divides about Israel. It鈥檚 tempting to try to avoid difficult conversations, but Passover isn鈥檛 merely a holiday of gratitude for a past redemption鈥攊t calls us to move toward transformation and freedom internally and externally, individually and collectively, especially with those closest to […]

Amalek and the Torah of Purim

Mar 22, 2024 By Yitz Landes | Commentary | Purim

The Purim most of us celebrate is one that marks a moment of redemption 鈥� when a descendent of Amalek tried and failed to destroy the Jews. It is the holiday that best encapsulates the sentiment 鈥渢hey tried to kill us, we won, let鈥檚 eat鈥�. And yet, Jewish thinkers have also understood Purim as a day that touches upon the cornerstone of Judaism itself: the covenant between God and Israel via the acceptance of the Torah. How is this connection formed? What is the relationship between Torah and Purim? And, in a calendar already chock full of holidays celebrating the Torah, what place is left for Purim?

Hagar鈥檚 Tears and Ours: Choosing Connection over Despair

Nov 3, 2023 By Rabbi Ayelet Cohen | Commentary | Vayera | Rosh Hashanah

Genesis offers us narratives of our biblical ancestors struggling with many of the deepest challenges that we may face in our lives, whether in our familial or interpersonal relationships or as we face the uncertainty, fear, and loss of living in a broken world. Throughout the Genesis cycle we encounter families who accept the fallacy that there is not enough blessing to go around, and thus make terrible mistakes. Parents choose favorite children, siblings are pitted against each other as rivals. This year we return to these stories shattered by the horrific violence of the October 7th massacres, as we see a new and terrifying chapter unfold in the primal conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. We know that there is enough suffering and trauma and outrage to go around. We wonder if there is enough compassion or enough hope to carry us through this time.

Dancing with Torah

Oct 6, 2023 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Commentary | Simhat Torah

Judaism鈥檚 richness comes from having two Torahs鈥攖he Written Torah [Torah shebikhtav], which Moses receives from God, and which we will soon celebrate on Simhat Torah,and the Oral Torah [Torah shebe鈥檃l peh], the Torah of commentary that extends from the ancient rabbis to today鈥檚 rabbis, scholars, and students of Judaism鈥檚 sacred texts and traditions.

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