Ta Shma
Ta Shma brings you recent lectures, classes, and programs from the Hadar Institute, allowing you to listen in on the beit midrash. Hosted by Rabbi Avi Killip, the podcast offers Jewish learning content for listeners on the go, at home, or wherever they are.
Episodes
4th of July Special: R. Ethan Tucker: 250 Years of Judaism in America
Over 250 years in America, Judaism—a way of life that centers obligation—has had to negotiate a culture defined by autonomy and freedom. How has that tension shaped Jewish life, mitzvot, and halakhah over the past 250 years? What will it take to sustain a culture of mitzvot over the next 250 years? Recorded at Hadar's Summer 2026 Kickoff Event. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.a
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Pinhas: Between Optional and Obligatory Wars
Over the past three years, a myriad of terms for the reality of war have emerged in Israeli discourse: a commanded war (milhemet mitzvah), an existential war (milhemet kiyyum), a war of restoration (milhemet komemiyut), an optional war (milhemet reshut), and more. At the core of each concept lies a different mode of conduct and a different motive, and they express a stance on the place war occupi
R. Elazar Symon on the 17th of Tammuz: What Must Be Broken
The tragedies we remember on 17th Tammuz are really of different kinds.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Balak: “A People Like a Lion”
Bilam’s prophecies are rich, dense, and enigmatic. One in particular was emphasised recently in 2025 when the war with Iran took its name from Bilam’s words: “a people like a lion” (am ke-lavi). What does this phrase mean? What kind of people are “like a lion”? What does this mean for our identity as Israel? And what use of power does Bilam’s analogy suggest?
R. Elie Kaunfer: Stepping into Prayer
Before the Amidah, we take three steps forward. What is the origin of this custom, and what is the symbolism of these steps? This class explores a number of approaches, all oriented to deepen our connection with God. Recorded at Hadar's Rabbinic Yeshivah Intensive, March 2026. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/RYI2026KaunferSteppingIntoPrayer.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Korah: Living in Dispute
This parashah focuses on the leadership and religious dispute that erupts between Korah and his assembly and Moshe and Aharon. Seemingly, the parashah rules in favor of one side—that of Moshe and Aharon—against Korah’s claim. It could easily be extrapolated from this drama that disputes are harmful, that they create violence and division, and that what God really wants for us is total unity behind
R. Dena Weiss: Unintended Consequences
Not everyone has the best intentions. This class explores the category of the "eid zomem" - the false witness who tries, but fails, to condemn an innocent person through their testimony. What is the proper way to think about one who tries to do wrong, but doesn't succeed? What do we do when the punishment can't possibly fit the crime? The remainder of this 6-part series can be
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Shelah: How to Stand in Minority
Parashat Shelah confronts us with a poignant question that touches our personal lives from time to time: How do we hold fast to a minority opinion? How can we align ourselves with Yehoshua and Calev, resisting the temptation to join the majority consensus of the spies?
R. Aviva Richman: A Torah of Sexual Ethics: Part 3
What do we do when our leaders—or our most sacred texts—repeatedly disappoint us? We live in a world that continues to struggle with how to live out a sexual ethics of mutual dignity. In this series, R. Aviva Richman confronts moments of disappointment related to sexual ethics in Talmud and explores how to inherit this part of Torah in ways that invite honesty and growth. Recorded In Winter 2026.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat BeHa'alotkha: Mitzvot as a Communal Project
Parashat BeHa’alotkha returns us to the story of Pesah—this time, in the second year after the Exodus from Egypt—and underscores the ways in which observing God’s mitzvot is a fundamentally communal project.
R. Aviva Richman: A Torah of Sexual Ethics: Part 2
What do we do when our leaders—or our most sacred texts—repeatedly disappoint us? We live in a world that continues to struggle with how to live out a sexual ethics of mutual dignity. In this series, R. Aviva Richman confronts moments of disappointment related to sexual ethics in Talmud and explores how to inherit this part of Torah in ways that invite honesty and growth. Recorded In Winter 2026.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Naso: Divine Communication
Our parashah describes one aspect of the unique relationship between the Holy Blessed One, and Moshe. The final verse of the parashah describes how the Holy One and Moshe would communicate in the mishkan (tabernacle).
R. Elazar Symon on Shavuot: Many Hearts, One Torah
According to Rashi, the defining feature of the people of Israel at the moment of receiving the Torah is complete unity.
R. Aviva Richman: A Torah of Sexual Ethics: Part 1
What do we do when our leaders—or our most sacred texts—repeatedly disappoint us? We live in a world that continues to struggle with how to live out a sexual ethics of mutual dignity. In this series, R. Aviva Richman confronts moments of disappointment related to sexual ethics in Talmud and explores how to inherit this part of Torah in ways that invite honesty and growth. Recorded In Winter 2026.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Bemidbar: Fire, Water, Wilderness: Living With the Torah
“God spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after their departure from the land of Egypt, saying” (Numbers 1:1). This verse opens the Book of Bemidbar and initiates God’s speech to the Israelites during these years of routine wandering.
Faith and Doubt in Our Final Hours: A Conversation Between Dr. Lydia Dugdale and R. Shai Held
For many of us, confronting death raises urgent questions of faith, doubt, and the meaning and purpose of our lives. Yet we live in a culture that avoids talking about death, let alone the existential challenges it raises. Physician and ethicist Lydia Dugdale, author of The Lost Art of Dying, joins Rabbi Shai Held to draw on ancient and contemporary wisdom about mortality and meaning. Recorded in
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat BeHar-BeHukkotai: A Reality Without Fear
The Book of Leviticus, and Parashat BeHukkotai that brings it to a close, makes a clear and recurring claim: reality is not an act of fate, but the outcome of human choice and behavior.
R. Elazar Symon on the Omer: Counting Old and New
According to a midrashic tradition, the counting of the Omer (that may have seemed to be nothing but a calendrical counting of the days from Pesah to Shavuot) expresses the anticipation of the Israelites for the giving of the Torah. The biblical commandment, however, appears in an agricultural context.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Emor: Where Do Sinners Come From?
In Parashat Emor, we encounter the story of the blasphemer. This blasphemer undermines, degrades, and treats with levity the very foundation of the religious system—the root of faith and the bedrock of the world. Yet various midrashim, in their characteristic fashion, are not satisfied with a dry, factual account.
Faith WithHeld: A Conversation Between Sarah Wildman and R. Shai Held
When the unthinkable happens, what remains of faith? Journalist Sarah Wildman, who lost her young daughter, joins Rabbi Shai Held in a searching conversation about grief, love, and the struggle to go on. They will probe how mourning collides with meaning-making, and how faith might fracture, endure, or be remade in the wake of devastating loss. Recorded in Fall 2025. This conversation is part of t
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim: “Will You Hear My Voice, My Distant One?”
Drawing close is no simple matter. At times, it can be difficult—even dangerous. And yet, to come near is also wondrous: it can nurture, enrich, and expand life. The possibility of a misstep is always near—but so too are countless opportunities. The line between one kind of closeness and another is often fine. It depends on sensitivity, harmony, the insistence on not including elements foreig
R. Elazar Symon on Yom HaZikaron/Yom Ha'Atzma’ut: Unless God Builds the House
Dedicated in loving memory of my nephew, Yishai Elyakim Urbach, who fell in Gaza one year ago, a few weeks after setting out to build his own home.Tehillim 127:1 "Unless God builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." Human beings cannot truly build alone. What we build by ourselves, the psalmist suggests, cannot ultimately endure.And yet one of the most beloved songs sung in I
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Tazria-Metzora: Giving Birth to Hope
Chapter 12 of the Book of Vayikra deals with the sacrifice of the woman who has given birth.
R. Elazar Symon on Yom HaShoah: After the Silence: Rebuilding from the Holy of Holies
When we think of the Holocaust, we can only be silent.We are incapacitated emotionally, morally, theologically. At times it seems that the countless museums and memorials, the ceremonies and journeys, the songs and the prayers, are but a desperate attempt to break free from the paralysis that grips us in its shadow.The Torah, too, knows such a moment when children are consumed by fire, and their
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Shemini: Can Death Be Explained?
The opening scene of Parashat Shemini is both brief and dramatic. It depicts the final day of the dedication of the mishkan (tabernacle)—the very day on which Nadav and Avihu die.
How to Read a Talmudic Story: Book Talk
The stories transmitted in the Talmud and midrash present contemporary readers with a rich and delightful entry point into the Rabbinic worldview and mindset, offering moral insights and memorable lessons. At the book launch for How to Read a Talmudic Story, Dr. Jeffrey L. Rubenstein and R. Aviva Richman explore how these narratives illuminate rabbinic values, struggles, and creativity. Together,
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Tzav: On Offerings, Wholeness, and Peace
Midrash Vayikra Rabbah offers an extensive homily on the shelamim (peace or well-being offering) based on the linguistic affinity between the Hebrew words shelamim, sheleimut (wholeness), and shalom (peace). By examining both the technical details of how the offering was brought and the linguistic potential inherent in its name, the midrash transforms a discussion of ancient ritual into an explor
R. Shai Held: Why Doesn't God Redeem Us Again?: Living With and Without Exodus
The exodus is nothing less than the "orienting event" of Jewish life. But Exodus memory also has another, much more painful side: amidst suffering and devastation, Jews remember the exodus and wonder why, if God redeemed us then, God does not do so now. In this lecture, R. Shai explores the double-edge of memory: exploring how it can sustain us in hope and how, sometimes, it can deepen o
R. Avital Hochstein on Vayikra: From Chance to Calling
The Book of Leviticus, Vayikra, begins: “God called (ויקרא) to Moshe and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying” (Leviticus 1:1). Why does God begin with a call? What is the essence and context of this kind of summoning?
R. David Kasher: Reading Tanakh as Tanakh Reads Itself
What is the value and beauty of Tanakh? And how are biblical texts aware of, and in conversation with one another? In this class, Rabbi David Kasher investigates the Tanakh's conception of Kingship as it is first formulated in the Torah and then recalled and reconsidered by the prophets and kings. Recorded at the Tanakh Intensive 2026.Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.c
Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei: Being in the Shadow of God
The Torah portions of VaYakhel and Pekudei describe the practical implementation of the construction plans for the tabernacle (mishkan), originally detailed in Terumah and Tetzaveh.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Ki Tissa: When Moshe Leaves
The absence of a leader creates a vacuum, and this vacuum invites a question: What kind of leadership are we seeking? At the beginning of Parashat Ki Tissa, Moshe is absent. When he ascended the mountain at the end of Parashat Mishpatim, he entered the cloud, and left behind an alternative leadership structure, appointing two individuals in his stead: Aharon and Hur. Who are they, what happens
R. Elazar Symon on Purim: Does God Sleep?
From a theological perspective, the most striking feature of the Book of Esther is God’s absence. God’s name does not appear anywhere in the megillah, which—at least on the level of peshat (the simple, contextual meaning)—presents an entirely human story.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Tetzaveh: “Who Stays Your Hand?”: On Interdependence
Being in a relationship is both an opportunity and a challenge. Relationships with others have the potential to be life-expanding, but to achieve this they must be built with delicacy and intention of mind and heart. The Torah portions of Terumah, Tetzaveh, and VaYakhel-Pekudei present various opportunities for encounter and connection—with others in general, and the connection between the Holy
Searching for the Heart of Tanakh: R. Shai Held and R. David Kasher
Traditional Jewish exegesis and modern academic scholarship often speak in different languages—one theological and reverential, the other historical and critical. In this public conversation, Rabbi Shai Held and Rabbi David Kasher reflect on how these frameworks shape our reading of the Bible, how they challenge one another, and how thoughtful engagement with both can lead to a richer, more respon
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Terumah: The Blueprint of Intimacy
Parashat Terumah opens with a divine request. God asks the Children of Israel for a contribution to achieve a specific goal: “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). The entire parashah, along with its layers of midrash, serves as a blueprint for how God seeks to be together with us—and how we can be together with others, even in an encounter that might otherwi
R. Shai Held: Loving the Stranger-Sojourner (Ger)
In addition to loving God and loving our neighbor, the Torah also commands us to love the stranger-sojourner (ger). This lecture delves into this surprising biblical mandate to love the stranger-sojourner and seeks to understand its relationship to more foundational ideas in Jewish theology, ethics, and spirituality. R. Shai considers questions like: Why does the God of the Torah love strangers-so
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Mishpatim: Who Rests on Shabbat?
Parashat Mishpatim shines a spotlight on human beings and their responsibility for the rest of others on Shabbat.
R. Ethan Tucker: Reading the Torah Like a Love Letter
Do you love midrash? Hate it? In this class, Rabbi Ethan Tucker delves into this unique rabbinic genre to try and understand its essence: Reading the Torah like a love letter, poring over every phrase, while also allowing our deepest values and concerns to come to the fore. Out of this alchemy, midrash is born and the traditional canon is never the same. Recorded at Hadar's Tanakh Intensive 2
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Yitro: An Intimate Meeting
The Torah describes a moving encounter between Yitro and Moshe, in which Moshe shares his journey and experiences. A close reading of the details reveals that the Torah offers us a model for meaningful human connection—a way of meeting another person with openness, allowing space both to show and to be seen, to listen deeply and to receive with empathy.
R. Elazar Symon on Tu Bishvat: Celebrating a Birthday for a Tree
Tu Bishvat is often called the “birthday of the trees.” There is also a reactionary trend to reject this framework of “birthday” and go back to its original, technical and halakhic purpose, which is found in the Mishnah.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Beshallah: Where Does Amalek Come From?
The Torah describes: “Amalek came and fought with Israel at Refidim” (Exodus 17:8). Where does Amalek come from? What is the context out of which this war begins?
R. Shai Held: Why Don’t We Make Blessings for Interpersonal Mitzvot?
On its face, it is a real anomaly in Jewish practice: we recite blessings before putting on tefillin or lighting Shabbat candles, but we don't recite any before we visit the sick or comfort a mourner. In this session, we'll probe a range of sources that try to explain why that is, culminating in a careful examination of one of Maimonides' post-powerful and important essays about th
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Bo: Slaves or Warriors: Who Were We When We Left Egypt?
Woven into the account of the Exodus are two distinct and seemingly contradictory images of the Children of Israel. On one hand, they are a nation of oppressed slaves, redeemed from a bondage of both body and soul. On the other, they appear as a vast, armed, and formidable group, driven out in haste by an Egypt terrified of their power. The opening chapters of the Book of Exodus present these t
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Va'Era: What is Slavery?
Pharaoh succeeded. He brought the Children of Israel into a state of slavery. The opening of Parashat Va’Era focuses on one particular consequence of this: the loss of the ability to listen.
R. Avi Strausberg: The Promise and Impossibility of Unity
What does it mean to strive toward unity and togetherness in a moment in which we are so divided? What is gained—and what is lost—by holding fast to notions of klal yisrael? Is it possible and even desirable to bridge our differences, or are there times in which our values take priority over notions of togetherness? R. Avi explores these questions through biblical, midrashic, and hasidic sources i
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Shemot: The Choice of Knowledge
The deterioration of relations between Egypt and the Children of Israel proceeds rapidly. What values, emotions, and perspectives make such a breakdown possible—and what could prevent it? The contrasting figures of Pharaoh and his daughter offer two opposing models, each of whom go through three steps. On the one hand, Pharaoh exemplifies the descent from relationship into fear, oppression, and
R. Avi Killip: And God Waited
For generations our relationship with God has been mediated through texts written almost entirely by men. In these sessions, Rabbi Avi Killip explores a collection of midrashim, written by contemporary Israeli women writers, exploring images of God that are uniquely female oriented while being deeply rooted in the images and language of the Torah and classical midrash. "And God Waited" e
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Vayehi: Truth and Peace
We find ourselves at the closing moments of the Book of Genesis—moments of transition as a family becomes a nation. We stand on the threshold between Yosef’s personal trauma and the national trauma soon to come, the slavery in Egypt. What mindset does Parashat VaYehi seek to give us as a tool for facing the suffering of Egypt?
R. Elazar Symon on the 10th of Tevet: “A Day of Hearing”: The Other Tevet Fast
We know about the fasts that mark the destruction of the Temple from a prophecy of Zekhariah. While the Jewish exiles were in Babylon, the prophet was asked whether traditional fasts would continue to be observed. In his response, Zekhariah refers to four fast days.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Vayigash: Three Paths to Closeness
The word “vayigash” (“he approached”) opens one of the most dramatic scenes in the Torah: a climactic moment in the tense encounter between Yehudah, the brothers and Yosef, a moment in which the fate of the entire family rests on the words and actions of a single person. “And Yehudah approached him and said…” (Genesis 44:18).
R. Avi Killip: Birthing Worlds
For generations our relationship with God has been mediated through texts written almost entirely by men. In these sessions, Rabbi Avi Killip explores a collection of midrashim, written by contemporary Israeli women writers, exploring images of God that are uniquely female oriented while being deeply rooted in the images and language of the Torah and classical midrash. “Birthing Worlds,” the secon
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Mikeitz: How Do You Climb Out of a Pit?
Parashat Mikeitz teaches that dreams hold immense power: the power to bring downfall or renewal, life or death, destruction or creation, war or peace. This means that the way we, as human beings, pursue a dream—whether out of spiritual emptiness or fullness, with an expectation that it will disconnect or connect—places before us both choice and responsibility.
R. Elazar Symon on Hanukkah: The Miracle of Home Carried into the Street
One of the differences between the Hanukkah candles and the other significant candles in our religious practice, the Shabbat candles, is their location. While Shabbat candles are lit inside the house, in the private domain (or, the technical term: reshut ha-yahid), the Hanukkah lamps are ideally lit in the doorway that connects to the public domain (reshut ha-rabim). But what is the significance o
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat VaYeishev: Yosef's Father, a Symbol of the Future
One of the most dramatic turning points in Yosef’s life is his fall from a respected and powerful position in Potiphar’s house in Egypt to the status of a prisoner in jail. In the Rabbinic tradition, this moment is seen not merely as a downfall but as a moment of personal choice, a point at which Yosef chooses to invest in a future. He chooses active continuity rather than starting anew. Interesti
R. Avi Killip: The Kiss of Death
For generations our relationship with God has been mediated through texts written almost entirely by men. In these sessions, Rabbi Avi Killip explores a collection of midrashim, written by contemporary Israeli women writers, exploring images of God that are uniquely female oriented while being deeply rooted in the images and language of the Torah and classical midrash. “The Kiss of Death” is a bre
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat VaYishlah: From Ya'akov to Yisrael—and Back
“Ya’akov was very afraid and distressed.” He takes many different precautions in order to avoid a violent reunion with his brother, with potentially severe consequences. At the same time, in our parashah Ya’akov receives a new name: Yisrael—a name he receives twice! The name, at its core, describes a person caught in conflict, and it is given to Ya’akov the first time in the midst of a struggle.
R. David Kasher: Klal Yisrael and Beyond: Balancing Communal Obligations with Civic Responsibilities
Are our primary responsibilities always to our own community? Or do Jews in the diaspora also have a religious obligation to contribute to the general social welfare - perhaps even to get involved in local politics? When Jews have political, social, or financial capital - how should we spend it? Rabbinic tradition offers no easy answers to these questions, but instead presents us with complex and
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat VaYeitzei: A Covenant of Separation
Throughout Parashat VaYeitzei, almost from their very first encounter, Lavan and Ya’akov are locked in conflict. But there is a rare moment of encounter—though a fraught one—where the verses describe a desire to bridge: “Come, then, let us make a covenant, you and I” (Genesis 31:44). What emerges is a covenant of separation—a covenant in which much of the content is devoted to how the two will liv
Independence and Interdependence: When do we need to stay together, and when must we strike out on our own?
Participating in and belonging to a Jewish community is rightly considered to be central to living a full and meaningful Jewish life. However, sometimes being enmeshed in community can present a challenge to exploring and pursuing our own personal goals and interests, both religious and non-religious. In this class, we'll explore a passage of the Ma'or vaShemesh, from the great Hassidic
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Toldot: Rivalry or Relationship?
Our parashah offers an opportunity to encounter a typical human phenomenon—plurality —and contemplate its implications. Specifically it brings us to ask: how do Ya’akov, Esav, and their offspring live with each other, as “two” from the womb?
R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 3
Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, also known as the Alei Shur, offers a powerful and inspiring — but often demanding — vision for what it takes to become a better human being. Before we can do any act of repentance, of teshuvah — we must first learn how to change and how to grow. Recorded in Summer 2025. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/RobkinApprenticeMind2025
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Hayyei Sarah: Rivkah’s Blessing
Rivkah receives a blessing from her family members before she sets out on her journey to marry Yitzhak: “O sister! May you grow into thousands of myriads; may your descendants inherit the gates of their foes” (Genesis 24:60).
R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 2
Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, also known as the Alei Shur, offers a powerful and inspiring — but often demanding — vision for what it takes to become a better human being. Before we can do any act of repentance, of teshuvah — we must first learn how to change and how to grow. Recorded in Summer 2025. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/RobkinApprenticeMind2025
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Vayera: The Righteous With the Wicked
In this week’s parashah, Avraham argues with God over the divine decision to destroy Sodom completely. Avraham and God agree that Sodom is wicked and that terrible things happen there. So what, then, is the basis for Avraham’s plea? Why does he resist God’s plan to punish and overturn Sodom? What are Avraham’s arguments as he tries to stop the city’s total destruction?
R. Aviva Richman: Why Talmud is the Bedrock of My Faith
The Talmud has often been subject to misrepresentation—viewed as esoteric or overly complex—yet it holds profound power as a centerpiece of Jewish tradition. How can Talmud and Talmud study anchor an approach to Judaism that speaks to the challenges and dangers of our moment? How can its embrace of complexity, argument, and multivocality offer a model for living a thoughtful and principled Jewish
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Lekh Lekha: Walking, Tradition, and Renewal
Abraham is “our father” in many senses. He is seen as the father of the Jewish people, the spiritual father of Judaism and of monotheistic faiths more broadly, and the father of the covenant with the one God. Yet in our parashah, Abraham is introduced first and foremost as a son, a descendant who must decide whether to be traditional or innovative—whether to follow the path of his forebears or t
R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 1
Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, also known as the Alei Shur, offers a powerful and inspiring — but often demanding — vision for what it takes to become a better human being. Before we can do any act of repentance, of teshuvah — we must first learn how to change and how to grow. Recorded in Summer 2025. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/RobkinApprenticeMind2025
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Noah: "In His Generation"
Parashat Noah invites us to reflect on the relationship between society and the individual. The introduction of its main character raises a central question: What is our role when we live within a corrupt society? How should we conduct ourselves when leaders are not guided by the values we hold dear, and when many individuals disagree with us about what is good, just, and right?
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Bereishit: What If Adam Had Reacted Differently?
Two children are fighting in the playground. Called into the principal’s office, each insists: “It all started when he hit me back.”This familiar joke captures something deeply human: our tendency to avoid responsibility by blaming others.
R. Tali Adler on VeZot HaBerakhah: On Endings and Beginnings
The draw of theatre in the age of movies is that each experience is unique. While the script's words and stage directions remain the same night after night, the unique alchemy of the actors and audience gathered in that particular configuration at that particular moment in time, does not. When we linger in our seats after the final encore, delaying our exit into the glaring reality of the wor
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Ha'azinu: Living in Between
Homeless in life, Moshe is fated to remain without a home even in death.That, perhaps, is the most difficult part of God’s decree: not that Moshe must die, a fate that all human beings share. Not that he must die outside of the land: Ya’akov and Yosef also died far from Israel.What is most difficult about Moshe’s death is that, even in death, he cannot go home.
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Vayeilekh: Recreating Sinai
The generation that will enter the Land of Israel never heard God’s voice at Sinai. They never experienced the earth shattering voice, the terror, the awe. In place of memory, all they have is a story.
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Nitzavim: The Long Goodbye
When Moshe gathers the generation of the desert together to enter them into the covenant once again, he knows that it is his last chance to teach the people how to live according to the Torah—and, crucially, how to live without him.
R. Tali Adler: When Teshuvah Is or Should Be Impossible
Are some things unforgivable? Is Teshuvah always an option? What would it mean if the road to repentance were blocked? In this class we will explore questions of whether we ever lose the opportunity to do Teshuvah and what it might look like to repent from a place where we are unsure of the possibility of forgiveness. Recorded in Elul 2023. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Ki Tavo: No Final Chapter
We’ve made it.That seems to be the promise of bikkurim, the first fruits gift to God.
R. Dena Weiss: The Mechanics of Mercy: How Does Forgiveness Actually Work?
The liturgy of the High Holiday season is replete with promises about God's forgiveness but is less specific about how God forgives. In her lecture, R. Dena Weiss explores how forgiveness works, and asks if there are any strategies that we can adopt to make us more forgivable and forgiving. This lecture was delivered in memory of Rabbi Jonathan D. Levine z"l in 2024.Source sheet: https:/
R. Tali Adler on Ki Teitzei: Living in the Double Exposure
I was eight years old in Basel, Switzerland the day I learned about the way places have layers. It was a chilly, autumn shabbos, and my father and I were on a walk by the river. My father pointed out different sights as we walked: there is the house where his elementary school friend lived. There is the gate they walked through to get to school, there is the shop run by the woman rumored to be
R. Shai Held: Biblical Theology in a Time of Climate Emergency Part 3
What can the Bible teach us about navigating our way through a time of climate emergency? In this series, R. Shai Held explores three key biblical texts that offer differing (but perhaps complementary) approaches to understanding our place in this divinely created and much-more-than-human world. Recorded in Winter 2025.Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_s
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Shoftim: Even So
What do you do when you feel—or when you know—that because of your actions, you are entirely alone in the world?
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This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
The Theory of Psychoanalysis - Carl Jung
