As we approach Tisha B'Av, our final THINK before the summer break, we focus on the background to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. exploring the critical events and ideas that were swirling around Jerusalem in the 120 years or so prior hurban habayit - the destruction of the Temple.

We explore what Dr Yael Ziegler calls 'the Jerusalem myth' that sprang up in the years after Jerusalem's miraculous salvation from Assyrian attack in 701 and the role of the prophets over the course of the following century as they tried to fight against the sense that Jerusalem was invincible.

In the last ten minutes there is a twist - with a mind-bending question whose consequences are hard to wrap one's head around. But you'll only appreciate this great 'what if' if you listen to the shiur prior to that point :)

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The celebration of 250 years of American independence is an opportunity for us to reflect on what America has meant for the Jewish story. We look at a wide range of sources from poems to the letters of confused immigrants seeking advice to the responsa of the greatest American poskim to see what Rav Moshe Feinstein called Malkhut shel Hesed a kingdom of kindness has meant for the Jews

THINK is generously sponsored by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation.

Bilam, hired to curse, but destined to bless. What were the natures of his powers? When the gemara debates whether he was a wizard or a prophet, what is being suggested about his character?

Along the way we will examine an intriguing parallel between Bilam and Avraham, and in particular a cluster of midrashim around the akeida that may have been inspired by, and an oblique commentary on, the story of Bilam, the angel and his donkey

In tonight's THINK we look in depth at the story of the ma'apilim, the lesser-known, lesser-studied sequel to the story of the spies - of the group who decided to risk everything to enter the land (even after God had decreed that they would die in the desert) and ended up paying the ultimate price.

Our class examines this tragic and strange story - and charts how in the 19th and 20th centuries the story of the ma'apilim returned to history becoming a critical image for thinkers as diverse as Haim Nahman Bialik and Rav Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe. 

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In our second class exploring the work Nahalat Yosef, a beautiful commentary on Megillat Rut written in Tel Aviv by Rav Y.Z. Lipovitz, we examine the opening lines of the megillah and explore the character of Elimelekh.

Although the verses themselves are sparse in detail, Rav Lipovitz, drawing on classical midrash and commentaries, paints a portrait of Elimelekh as a potentially transformative leader who could have saved Israel in a time of darkness. The discussion moves beyond Elimelekh the individual and develops a philosophy of Jewish leadership and Jewish history  - as demanding and relevant now as they were in mid-century Tel Aviv when they were first written.

Source sheet here

THINK is generously sponsored by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation.

After the seeming ultimate triumph at Har Carmel in the previous shiur and chapter, Eliyahu finds himself in the depths of despair as Izevel still seeks his life and journeys to Har Horev (Sinai) where Hashem teaches the ultimate lesson of how a prophet should act - not through fire and noise but through the thin small voice

THINK is generously dedicated by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation.

Gathering the people to Har Carmel, Eliyahu attempts to force the wavering people to believe with an irrefutable demonstration of God's power, challenging the prophets of the Ba'al to the ultimate win-all lose-all contest

One of the greatest stories in Tanakh and one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of Jewish faith - an episode which appears to recreate the revelatory experience of Har Sinai but as understood by the midrash exemplifies the challenges and limits of miraculous proofs

Source sheet here

THINK is generously dedicated by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation. Our learning should be an aliyah for their neshamot