Ta Shma

What is our responsibility towards others who may feel jealous of what we have? Dena Weiss explores how to think about privilege and how we can act in a way that is sensitive to the experiences of those around us. This lecture was originally delivered as part of the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program in January 2022.

According to many interpreters, we achieve kedushah by curbing our desire. Holiness, in this view, inextricably entails suppression of our will. Taken to its extreme, this can lead to a notion that being in relationship with God requires blind obedience and negation of ourselves. In contrast, it is also possible to understand kedushah in a way that features—rather than suppresses—our will. Through an expansive reading of the concept of ratzon (will), we can strive for an ethics of kedushah that focuses on consent and mutuality as central to deep relationship, with God and others.

We live in a time of unprecedented climate emergency: greenhouse gas emissions are causing vast and irreversible changes to the the Earth’s climate. How should religious people respond to the crisis? Rabbi Shai Held takes a theological approach and response to the climate crisis, considering how the Bible describes God’s relationship with the Earth and the challenges humans face when they forget the divine role in creation. This lecture was originally delivered as a part of the Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest in January 2021.

In some rabbinic midrashim, biblical characters cross over into different story lines, creating whole new backgrounds for their characters. Rabbi Ethan Tucker looks at the stories of Boaz and Job to demonstrate that, by reading these new storylines, we learn important lessons we would otherwise miss. This is part 3 of Hadar's 2021 Fall Lecture Series.

Last week, in Parashat Tazria, we saw that our capability to be full partners in Torah is anchored in the messy and sometimes disorienting details of our embodied lives. In Parashat Metzora, we see the importance of narration, how giving voice to our experience plays an important role in a model of Torah and halakhah that conveys dignity and is a source of healing.

>Who are Hur, Yair ben Menashe, and Serah bat Asher and why do these minor biblical characters appear in midrash far removed from their own stories? Rabbi Ethan Tucker looks at each of their stories to demonstrate that their insertions are not random, but are based on close reading of the biblical narrative and a rabbinic desire to emphasize certain morals in the text. This is part 2 of Hadar's 2021 Fall Lecture Series.

Tazria is a parashah that people often find more repelling than compelling. Why so many words dedicated to bodily emissions and the intricate appearance of skin diseases? This Torah of the body touches on the relationship between halakhah and individuals’ embodied experiences.

When a midrash seems so fantastical and outlandish that you conclude it must be made up, you are probably not reading the text as closely as the midrash. Rabbi Ethan Tucker demonstrates how the midrash justly describes the reemergence of early biblical figures in later biblical narratives, and uses these figures to teach values and fill in gaps in the text. This is part 1 of Hadar's 2021 Fall Lecture Series.

It is hard to imagine a parashah more devastating than Shemini, or more of a testament to the stamina of enduring relationship despite all. When we experience the events of this day through the inner worlds of Aharon and his wife Elisheva, there is much to learn about relationship that persists through guilt, anxiety, and loss.

In times of despair and sadness, hope plays an important role. But can there be danger from too much hope? R.Avi Strausberg explores a wide variety of sources from the Talmud to modern poetry to explore how we can incorporate hope into our lives without being crushed by hope of a world that never comes. This lecture was originally delivered as the Dr. Eddie Scharfman Memorial Lecture in January 2021.