Ta Shma

The midrashic composition, Shir HaShirim Rabbah, develops the allegorical reading of Song of Songs as a love story between Israel and God. The verse "Let God kiss me with the kisses of God's mouth," for example, is read as reflecting a close, even radically close, intimacy between Israel and God. According to the midrash, the verse implies an instance of direct and close-up interaction with God and the Torah. R. Berger explores this midrashic idea and discussed the implications of such a relationship with God and the commandments.

This lecture was originally delivered as part of Hadar's Summer Learning Retreat in June 2022.

How are we meant to orient to our day when we wake up? In what ways can a short blessing about God opening our eyes set our intention for the day to come?

As we watch storms surge and fires burn, the changing climate has moved from an abstract fear to an ever-present reality. The enormity of this crisis demands a complex type of faith, a different kind of prayer, and a theological reckoning. How can we bring our fears and hopes to God? What might it look like to pray about climate change? In the Dr. Eddie Scharfman Memorial Lecture from January 2023, Rabbi Avi Killip explored the wisdom that Jewish tradition has to offer for this time of global crisis.

Ideally, prayer is a pouring out of the soul. But in Jewish practice today, people don’t only pray when they feel moved to pray. We are mandated to say the Amidah multiple times a day, and we can’t guarantee that each of those moments will be characterized by intention, or kavanah. Should I pray even if I don’t know if my heart will be in it?

Growth is gradual, so slow in fact that it cannot be tracked in real time. We need an annual date as a marker of a specific moment, before and after seasons of change. Like all birthdays, Tu Bishvat invites us to celebrate, to notice the beauty in slow growth, and to appreciate the potential of what is yet to be born.

What does it mean to pray to God when we are experiencing pain? One approach understands God as intricately tied to our suffering, and indeed, in need of redemption as well. How might we understand that position, and where is it found in the liturgy?

Rabbi Tali Adler teaches a beautiful combination of midrashim about the lulav and etrog—which completely rethinks our relationship with God and God’s relationship with us. Before and after, Joey Weisenberg plays one of his original compositions. Recorded in Summer 2020 as part of a course "Melody and Midrash."

How do we relate to our enemies through prayer? Can we pray for their failure? Might we ever pray for their welfare?

Our rabbis imagine an intense confrontation between Eli the high priest and Hannah, our model for how we recite the Amidah. Explore this fascinating midrash and think about the power of prayer in the hands of forgotten members of society. This lecture was originally delivered at the Summer Learning Retreat in 2021.

Is it worth persisting in prayer, even if we aren’t answered right away? What does it mean to pray for something for years—or even decades? Moshe can serve as one model for addressing these questions.