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 great with people!  She that was great among nations is become like a widow; the princess among states is become a thrall” (Lamentations 1:1).  A second eikhah is found in the Haftarah for Parashat Devarim, spoken by the prophet Yeshayahu: “Alas (eikhah), she has become a whore, the faithful city that was filled with justice, where righteousness dwelt—but now murderers!” (Isaiah 1:21).  And a third eikhah is uttered by Moses in the opening verses of Parashat Devarim—an eikhah we might easily overlook if not for this convergence of timing and the echo of Megillat Eikhah: “How (eikhah) can I bear by myself your burden, your weight, and your strife?” (Deuteronomy 1:12).

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, searching for God in moments of devastation, and uncovering sparks of hope, resilience, and inner strength. His words speak not only to the horrors of his time, but to anyone seeking meaning, faith, and comfort in the face of life’s struggles. Recorded in Winter 2026. 

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/PassowEishKodesh2026Part1.pdf

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 the story, inviting us to reflect on the ability of minority groups to speak and be heard.

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/rabbinic-personalities-0

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/AdlerRabbinicPersonalities2026Part1.pdf

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.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/250YearsJudaismAmericaTucker2026.pdf

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 occupies in society as a whole, and in relation to other social duties and needs in particular.  

The tragedies we remember on 17th Tammuz are really of different kinds.

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? 

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.pdf

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 our leadership.  

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/HochsteinParashatKorah5786.pdf