Ta Shma

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 alr

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

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 co

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, o

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 r

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

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 f

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

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

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

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 an