Ta Shma

Tefillah Toolkit #1. Elie Kaunfer investigates the deeper meaning of the poem Lekhah Dodi. How is it structured? What does the refrain mean? What are the biblical and Talmudic allusions in the stanzas?

Avi Killip. The Story of Rachel and Rabbi Akiva. The Talmudic love story of Rabbi Akiva and his wife, Rachel, explores core questions about relationships that are just as relevant today. Through a close reading of the narrative we will ask: Can long distance relationships be real and enduring? How do we navigate multiple passions and priorities? In what ways does their love story reflect the relationships of those who came before them, and those who have come since? Recorded live at the Global Day of Jewish Learning, 2015.

Ethan Tucker. Apostasy: Defining the Boundaries of Jewishness in Classical Rabbinic Sources. Do Rabbinic sources address apostasy from an ethnic or religious perspective? As we will see through a close reading of a few key texts, the answer is “yes.” We will analyze them one by one, in an effort to extract competing values and frameworks on Jewishness. Each topic engages a different dimension of apostasy, exploring its impact on ritual (both private and public), kinship, and the fabric of communal life.

Jon Levenson, Shai Held. How do classical Jewish texts understand the obligation to love God—and the idea that God loves the people Israel? What is different about the way those sources think about love, God, and sexuality from the ways most modern people do? Join Jon Levenson and Shai Held in a free-wheeling discussion of these and related questions of Jewish theology. The conversation coincides with the appearance of Levenson’s new book, The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Princeton University Press).

Ethan Tucker. While Jewish tradition and practice is full of food restrictions, most of them are not related to keeping Jews separate from others. Jews are commanded not to eat a host of forbidden animals, but this is in pursuit of holiness, not difference. There are, however, traditional categories that aim to separate Jews and Gentiles via the medium of food, first emerging in the Second Temple period. The ingredients may be acceptable, the utensils used to prepare them brand new, but the food is forbidden because a Gentile cooked it. What is the origin of this practice? What is its basis and what are its goals? What can we learn from its application over time?

Jeff Fox (Yeshivat Maharat). Blessing or Curse? Traditionally, Judaism acknowledges that the "Age of Prophecy" is over—God no longer speaks directly to God's prophets. But what are the implications of this idea? If there are no prophets, does that mean in some way, we are all prophets? Recorded live at the Community Beit Midrash Kickoff Event, 2015.

Ethan Tucker. While Jewish tradition and practice is full of food restrictions, most of them are not related to keeping Jews separate from others. Jews are commanded not to eat a host of forbidden animals, but this is in pursuit of holiness, not difference. There are, however, traditional categories that aim to separate Jews and Gentiles via the medium of food, first emerging in the Second Temple period. The ingredients may be acceptable, the utensils used to prepare them brand new, but the food is forbidden because a Gentile cooked it. What is the origin of this practice? What is its basis and what are its goals? What can we learn from its application over time?

Ben Sommer (JTS). A Close Look at the First and Last Psalms. The editor of the book of Psalms chose to begin with Psalm 1 and end with Psalm 150—two texts that seem so far apart to be in different universes. Why did they do this? What do they think about spirituality? Are they more misnagidische or more hasidishce (the Hasidim and their opponents)? Recorded live at the Community Beit Midrash Kickoff Event, 2015.

Yaffa Epstein (Pardes). There are several stories in the Talmud where our Sages of Blessed Memory talk about themselves, and their positions as Rabbis and Leaders of Communities. We will examine the kinds of self-critique—as well as self-aggrandizement—the Rabbis utilize, and attempt to understand both how the Rabbis perceived themselves, and how that self-perception can inform our own relationship with Rabbinic Judaism today. Recorded live at the Community Beit Midrash, 2015.

Ethan Tucker. The Akeidah—the story of the binding of Isaac as told in this week’s parashah—is one of the most central narratives and texts in the Jewish tradition. The Akeidah, however, also seems to be an act of attempted murder of an innocent, and anyone today who would claim divine sanction to kill his own child would be locked up, left for mad, and hounded out of any sane religious community. And beyond dealing with Avraham’s willingness to carry out this task, how can we deal with the fact that God commanded this seemingly immoral act? How do we respond to this basic dilemma?