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
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Ha'azinu: A Topography of Distance
“I will hide My face from them” (Deuteronomy 32:20)—so declares the Holy Blessed One in Parashat Ha’azinu. This is one of the most painful and jarring statements in the Bible. It describes a deep rift in the relationship between God and Israel: a dynamic of hiding, withdrawal, and a sealed face. This is called in Jewish theology and tradition hester panim, the hiding of God’s face.
R. Dena Weiss: Language As a Lens: Prayer (Part 4)
Explore the role that language plays in our personal, religious, and spiritual lives, by challenging assumptions about core areas of speech like prayer (is it supposed to be effective?) gossip (is it really bad?), and telling the truth (is it necessary?). Recorded in Summer 2026. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/WeissLanguageLensPart42026.pdf
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Nitzavim-VaYeilekh: On Mutual Responsibility
At this time of year, as the High Holidays approach, we are used to thinking about our own personal responsibility. In the Yom Kippur Vidui, we worry not only about our sins that we are aware of, but even those that “are not revealed to us,” rather known to God alone. But the verse that introduces the concept of revealed or hidden sins is about not personal, but national responsibility. Since t
R. Dena Weiss: Language As a Lens: When Is It OK to Lie? (Part 3)
Explore the role that language plays in our personal, religious, and spiritual lives, by challenging assumptions about core areas of speech like prayer (is it supposed to be effective?) gossip (is it really bad?), and telling the truth (is it necessary?). Recorded in Summer 2026. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/WeissLanguageLensPart32026.pdf
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Ki Tavo: Clearing the Holy from the Home
Our parashah describes a ceremony known as vidui ma’aser. The word vidui here from the root י.ד.ה. probably means something like “declaration of thanks” (like the prayer Modim), but can be also literally translated as “confession,” like the vidui familiar to us from our High Holiday liturgy. What at first seems like an idyllic description of a perfect covenant in our land turns, through a readin
R. Dena Weiss: Language As a Lens Part 2
Explore the role that language plays in our personal, religious, and spiritual lives, by challenging assumptions about core areas of speech like prayer (is it supposed to be effective?) gossip (is it really bad?), and telling the truth (is it necessary?). Recorded in Summer 2026. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/WeissLanguageLensPart22026.pdf
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Ki Teitzei: Three Contemporary Readings of the Rebellious Son
One of the most emotionally charged and provocative legal passages is found in our parashah: the case of the rebellious son.
R. Dena Weiss: Language As a Lens Part 1
Explore the role that language plays in our personal, religious, and spiritual lives, by challenging assumptions about core areas of speech like prayer (is it supposed to be effective?) gossip (is it really bad?), and telling the truth (is it necessary?). Recorded in Summer 2026. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/WeissLanguageLensPart12026.pdf
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Shoftim: The Torah of Military Service
The preoccupation with the question of who goes to war is not new. It is a question that meets us, Israeli society, in our day-to-day lives. There is an acute sense here of exhaustion of military forces, alongside awareness of the high price that those who serve and their families pay, accompanied by political tension surrounding the issue of military service, all of which grow day by day—and even
R. Elazar Symon on Rosh Hodesh Elul: A Different Kind of Comfort
The month of Elul marks the beginning of a process that leads us toward the Yamim Noraim, the days of awe. Yet in another sense, even at the beginning of Elul, we are already mid-process. Going back to at least medieval France, the sequence of haftarot we read in the synagogue on Shabbat from the 17th of Tammuz until Yom Kippur were understood as representing a long process split into three period
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Re'eih: The Dangers of Incitement
In Parashat Re’eih, the Torah warns against a uniquely insidious threat: the mesit or inciter. In Hebrew, this act of enticing or manipulating another person toward harm is known as hasatah, “incitement.” The discourse of incitement is one of the most central and sensitive topics in social and political interaction in Israel. The term hasatah is used by the Israeli public both as a formal legal
R. Tali Adler: What Are You Doing Here, Elijah?
This class explores the powerful stories of the prophet Elijah, asking what they reveal about prophecy, leadership, and religious zeal. As Elijah performs miracles and confronts the people of Israel, the narrative raises difficult questions about certainty and compassion. Recorded at Hadar's Tanakh Intensive, Winter 2026.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Eikev: Memory and the Divine-Human Partnership
Two intertwined themes are explored in Parashat Eikev: memory and human agency. What is the connection between these ideas? And how do they work together in our brit, our partnership with God?
R. Shai Held: Hope After Hope Is Lost
How might we maintain hope during a time when it seems to many of us that all hope is gone? One biblical idea is that, although God is frequently disappointed, God also refuses to give up. (What) can we learn from that? This class turns to Tanakh, to midrash, and to medieval Jewish thought to help think more deeply about hope and hopelessness—and about what we can hold onto in dark times. Recorded
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Va'Ethanan: Law After War
Our parashah describes a deeply charged moment—a moment where the Israelites are at risk of forgetting the Holy Blessed One. Surprisingly, this danger does not stem from lack or deprivation, but rather from a reality of abundance and tranquility that awaits them after conquering the Land.
R. Elazar Symon on Tisha B'Av: Wood and Stone
At least in the plain sense of Lamentations 4, the destruction of Jerusalem is not presented as the execution of a carefully designed plan. It is a moment of unleashed fury.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Devarim: Eikhah: What Does God Lament?
Parashat Devarim is always read on the Shabbat preceding Tisha B’Av, the week in which we read Megillat Eikhah (the Book of Lamentations). This creates a triple echo of a single word within our tradition: eikhah (which can mean both “alas” and “how”). The first is the one read on Tisha B’Av, the very eikhah that opens the scroll and gives it its name: “Alas (eikhah)! Lonely sits the city once g
R. Dani Passow: Esh Kodesh: Finding God in the Midst of Suffering
In the darkest days of the Holocaust, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Piaseczner Rebbe, offered weekly teachings to his community in the Warsaw Ghetto. These sermons, later collected as Esh Kodesh (“Sacred Fire”), are among the most profound works of spiritual courage ever written. In this six-part series, we’ll explore how the Rebbe turned to Torah to confront unthinkable suffering, searchin
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Mattot-Masei: The Daughters of Tzlofhad and the Sons of Menashe
The Book of Numbers concludes by revisiting a narrative we first encountered last week: the story of Tzlofhad’s inheritance. This episode appears first in chapter 27 and again in chapter 36, with the two accounts mirroring each other. Yet, despite the extensive linguistic parallels between them, these similarities actually serve to highlight the deep gaps and contrasts between the two parts of t
R. Tali Adler: Rabbinic Personalities: Getting to Know R. Yohanan Ben Zakkai
Who were the rabbis who shaped Judaism as we know it today? This class delves into Talmudic stories about Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, comes to know him as a human being and tries to understand his approach to rebuilding Judaism in the wake of a lost world. Recorded in Winter 2026. The rest of the series is available on Hadar's Torah Library: https://hadar.org/torah-tefillah/collections/rabbini
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
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