Ta Shma

Why is the celebration of Shavuot so different from that of Simhat Torah? Aviva Richman offers some thoughts on Shavuot.

Why do we count the Omer (the seven week period between Pesah and Shavuot) aloud, with a blessing? Why do we count up instead of down? Ethan Tucker offers some thoughts on Shavuot.

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.

Universalism and its Dangers. The Jewish liturgical calendar is set up to ensure that each year, parashat Bemidbar (“In the wilderness”) is read before the festival of Shavuot, usually on the Shabbat right before the holiday. The connection between the parashah and the holiday is not immediately obvious, but interpreters often focus on why God chose to reveal the Torah in the wilderness. According to some midrashim, the Torah was given in the desert to emphasize its universal availability. This and its opposition forces us to confront some of the most basic questions of Jewish theology—and for that matter, some of the most complex questions about pluralism, universalism, and tolerance.

Join Mechon Hadar's Elie Kaunfer interviewing Abigail Pogrebin about her personal journey through every holiday, captured in her widely-read Forward column, "18 Holidays; One Wondering Jew", and its significance for rediscovering Jewish life.

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.

God dreams of living among a people who will be faithful—who will serve only God, who will construct a society in which justice and decency prevail. But God’s dreams are thwarted at every turn: Israel repeatedly descends into idolatry and allows the powerful to take advantage of the weak. Reading the prophets, one frequently wonders whether the covenant between God and Israel will finally come to an ignominious end. Yet it never does. Time and again, just when it seems that Israel’s relationship with God has been irreparably breached, new hope emerges. The message of these texts is clear: Despite the depth of God’s anguish, God will not abandon the people. To understand why is to learn something fundamental—and potentially transformative—about the God Jews worship.

In this class, we will examine two Talmudic stories concerning the period of the Omer (which ends with Shavuot) as a way of exploring deeper questions of ethics, role modeling and education. We will also encounter two classic stories that are read differently when seen in light of each other.

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.

Counting the Omer. Over the course of Jewish history, a time of breathless anticipation becomes simultaneously a period of profound grief. To understand why is to discover Judaism’s deepest yearnings as well as its greatest disappointments.