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?  

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 the role of character and virtue in Jewish life. Recorded at the Rabbinic Yeshiva Intensive 2025. 

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/RYI2025HeldWhyNoBlessingsInterpersonalMitzvot.pdf

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 two narratives in parallel, without attempting to reconcile them.

For many people, the conflict between faith and experience is difficult and often devastating to live through.  Psalm 77 is a very odd text: the first part is a lament by a person who wonders whether God has forgotten how to show mercy.  And then the second part recounts God's salvation of Israel with great passion in the Exodus. What's the relationship between the two parts of the psalm? Has the psalmist's crisis been resolved, or does the tension remain—mirroring our own struggles with faith? Recorded at Hadar's Rabbinic Yeshiva Intensive 2025. 

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/RYI2025HeldRiddlePsalm77.pdf

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.

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 in her lecture in memory of Dr. Eddie Scharfmanm, given in 2026.

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/StrausbergPromisePossibilityUnity2026.pdf

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 alienation.  On the other, his daughter represents a path grounded in courage, relationship, empathy, and a belief in the possibility of mutual flourishing.

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" engages with midrashic answers to an imagined question “What might God be waiting on from us?”  Recorded in Summer 2025. 

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/KillipAndGodWaited2025.pdf

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?

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.