Ta Shma

Leadership is supposed to be about giving, but many leaders become overly accustomed to taking. An elusive phrase in parashat Korach invites us to explore what it means to be a leader—what it means, in other words, to be given the gift of giving.

Anchoring and Grounding the American Jewish Future. Ethan Tucker offers some of his thoughts and reflections on a significant moment in the history of the Jewish community in North America. Recorded live at the Yeshivat Hadar Summer Kickoff, 2015.

Ever wanted to know the answer to some deep and challenging questions in halakhah (Jewish law)? Join R. Avi Killip interviewing R. Ethan Tucker with questions sent in by Yeshivat Hadar alumni and others on all sorts of details of Jewish law. This is a joint project between the Center for Jewish Law and Values and Jewish Public Media.

Between Numbers and Ecclesiastes. A verse in parashat Shelach admonishes us not to follow after our hearts and our eyes, while a verse in Ecclesiastes encourages us to do just that. At first glance there appears to be an irreconcilable contradiction between the two texts, but that surface discrepancy may mask what is in fact deep concord.

Why do many Jews feel the need to pray in Hebrew? And why do many other Jews prefer to pray in their native tongue? This class explores the way in which questions of language in prayer often serve as proxies to the deeper question: what is prayer all about?

Ever wanted to know the answer to some deep and challenging questions in halakhah (Jewish law)? Join R. Avi Killip interviewing R. Ethan Tucker with questions sent in by Yeshivat Hadar alumni and others on all sorts of details of Jewish law. This is a joint project between the Center for Jewish Law and Values and Jewish Public Media.

What Moses (and Job) Can Teach Us. The life of a prophet is nothing if not lonely. Summoned to “stand in the breach” between God and Israel (Ezekiel 22:20), the prophet must convey the divine word to an intractable people, yet also plead with a disheartened God to have mercy on them. One crucial dimension of the prophet’s intercession is rarely if ever noted—and yet it is part of what makes his work at once so difficult and so noble: He is called upon to pray for people who have hurt and disappointed him. No biblical figure more profoundly embodies this challenge than Moses.

What has the power to obligate us to something or someone outside ourselves - and when do those obligations take on the force of law? As the cornerstone of the Jewish legal lexicon, the word 'Mitzvah' offers a window into what we care about, and what is worth our caring about. This class explores an under-appreciated stream of Jewish thinking that integrates the personal, legal, and theological, from the Tanakh through modernity.

Ever wanted to know the answer to some deep and challenging questions in halakhah (Jewish law)? Join R. Avi Killip interviewing R. Ethan Tucker with questions sent in by Yeshivat Hadar alumni and others on all sorts of details of Jewish law. This is a joint project between the Center for Jewish Law and Values and Jewish Public Media. Recorded live at Limmud NY.

Or: Why Confession Matters. Three verses in parashat Naso that appear at first glance to be limited in scope to a specific transgression and its consequences turn out to have momentous implications for Jewish spirituality and ethics. They teach us just how much hinges on the power of speech.