Ta Shma

It's almost impossible to imagine people with more different life experiences than Moshe and the Israelites. Moshe grew up in the palace; the Israelites were building palaces as slaves. It seems impossible that they'll be able to talk to each other, because our images of Who God is are so rooted in our life experiences. We learn from Moshe how to be humble in listening to the experiences of others.

“Keyli Ata,” “Mitteler Rebbe,” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

Ours is a culture of media consumption in large and often indiscriminate amounts. This is in part because we don’t view ourselves as transforming and being transformed by all of these inputs. But perhaps the question is in fact a far deeper question about identity. Perhaps we need to acknowledge the extent to which the culture we consume is a culture that we participate in and help promulgate. 

“Mitteler Rebbe” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

What does it mean to call God “great, mighty, and awesome,” as we do in the first blessing of the Amidah?  Perhaps we are praising God as creator of the world, or redeemer of the Jewish people through miracles. After all, these are “great, mighty, and awesome” acts, which humans could never perform.  But the biblical context of this phrase points in a very different direction.

Avraham is the epitome of the kind and gracious host. But there's more to the alchemy between hosts and guests than just the practicality of dietary restrictions and clean sheets. The Ba'al Shem Tov, as told by his grandson, the Degel Mahaneh Efrayim, explores the Torah that comes from this interaction, and the idea that Avraham still got something from his guests, without undermining the selflessness of his mitzvah.

“Mitteler Rebbe” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

Recent years have pushed us to examine the foundational structures of so much in our world.  Previously unthinkable realities have called into question the stability of systems we believed to be stone-clad.  On the global level, we never imagined a pandemic, fragile democracies or a multi-year war in europe.  In so many ways we have had to face the fact that what we thought would be around forever turned out to be unstable.  Over and over again we have been surprised to see what might burn.  

We often think of prayer as motivated by personal needs: I pray for myself or others close to me.  But one of our prayers specifically asks us to focus more broadly and pray for our religious leaders.  Why is this so important?

How do we—and ought we—respond to suffering? R. Miriam-Simma explores stories in the Talmud that express the extent of Jerusalem's destruction through a focus on food. Recorded on Tisha B'Av 2022.

Before the destruction of the first and second temples, Shiloh was destroyed. Discussed in Yirmiyahu and alluded to in Shmuel, Shiloh is the spiritual center that we often overlook in Jewish history, and whose destruction and its lessons we too often forget. How can Shiloh's destruction inform what we mourn for today? Recorded at Tisha B'Av 2022.

Why is there a fixed liturgy to the Amidah? After all, if I am meant to pray to God with focus and intention, shouldn’t I use my own personal words, and not words that were written by others long ago?