The Haftarah portion for Pinehas (Jer. 1:1-2:3) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.
Questions for Discussion:
In this haftarah, the opening of the prophecy of Jeremiah, God responds to Jeremiah’s unarticulated sense of inadequacy for the task, essentially by saying that this is what Jeremiah was created to do.
• Do you ever feel called to particular work in the world but feel inadequate? What would give you the reassurance you need to move forward?
• The prophet is specifically called to speak difficult truths to the people Israel, in the hopes of moving them to repent. Are there difficult conversations that you are avoiding? What do you need to do to be able to have them in a productive way?
• Who do you see finding an effective way to speak difficult truths in the public sphere?
JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.

The Haftarah portion for Second Day of Shavuot (Hab. 3:1-19) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.
Questions for Discussion:
Habakkuk’s prophecy, chosen for the second day of Shavuot, portrays all of creation in a state of fear and trembling at God’s approach.
• What role does yirah (awe or fear) play in your theology?
• Where in your life do you experience that sense of awe, and what spiritual pathways does it open for you?

JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.

The Haftarah portion for Shabbat Mahar Hodesh (1 Sam. 20:18-42) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.
Questions for Discussion:
Despite Biblical commands to honor and revere parents, and despite the respect and loyalty due to a king, Jonathan here is disloyal to his father the king in order to protect and remain loyal to his beloved friend David.
• How do you resolve conflicting loyalties in your own life?
• At what point does unethical, inappropriate or irrational behavior—such as Saul’s rage here—forfeit the loyalty and respect even of family?

JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.

The Haftarah portion for Shabbat Terumah (I Kings 5:26-6:13) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.
Questions for Discussion:
After describing in great length the construction of Solomon’s Temple, the haftarah states in two brief verses God’s response: God’s presence among the people depends upon their striving to adhere to God’s will, rather than on the impressiveness of the building.
• Do we sometimes pay more attention to the beauty of our religious buildings than to how we behave in them?
• How do you think God views a magnificent synagogue or church in which people are unkind, dishonest, selfish, hateful or greedy? Is that a House of God?

JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.

The Haftarah portion for Shabbat Shekalim (2 Kings 12:1-17) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.

Questions for Discussion:
The king discovers that the priests have not been attending to the upkeep of the Temple, apparently instead seeing the donations as part of their own compensation. Strikingly, the king does not accuse or assign blame. Instead, he establishes a system of checks and balances in dealing with Temple finances, to avoid the inevitable conflict of interest between the priests’ immediate needs and the long-term sustenance of the institution.

• What “checks and balances” do we need -- individually, in our personal and business relationships, and as a society -- to better navigate our inevitable conflicts of interest?

• How might refraining from blame help us better enact those structures?

JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.

The Haftarah portion for Shabbat Bo (Jer. 46:13-28) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.
Questions for Discussion:
This haftarah holds all parties accountable for wrongdoing, while simultaneously rejecting false moral equivalencies. Egypt is guilty of sins so terrible as to warrant its utter destruction. The people Israel, though victimized by Egypt, are nevertheless not entirely innocent; they too will be chastised, but in a measured way appropriate to the lesser level of wrongdoing.
• How can our society reclaim moral discernment, neither whitewashing bad behavior, nor erasing important differences in the nature and degree of wrongdoing?

JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.

The Haftarah portion for Shabbat Va'era (Ezekiel 28:25 - 29:21) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.
Questions for Discussion:
God punishes Pharaoh for his hubris in claiming "the Nile is mine, I made it."
• How are we today guilty of similar hubris, treating the natural world as ours to do with as we please, as though we ourselves made it?

JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.

The Haftarah portion for Shabbat Vayiggash (Ezek. 37:15-28) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.
Questions for Discussion:
Ezekiel sees a beautiful vision of the unification of the Jewish people, the healing of long-standing divisions.
• How is this unification accomplished and expressed in the haftarah?
• What role does leadership and symbolism play?
• What kinds of leaders do we need to unify the Jewish people?


JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.

Episode 1: Who Were the Rabbis?

What led to the emergence of the group of scholars and teachers we call the Rabbis? What motivated them and what did they value? The Rabbis looked to their forebear, Hillel, as an exemplar of religious leadership, and in this episode, we’ll look at three stories they told about Hillel to see what we can learn about the Rabbis’ self-conception.

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Credits:
Produced by Rabbi Tim Bernard
Cover art: Rabbi Tim Bernard
Theme music: Stock media provided by u19_studios / Pond5

The Haftarah portion for Masei (Jer. 2:4-28, 3:4) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman.
Questions for Discussion:
This second haftarah of rebuke identifies two aspects of national wrongdoing: 1) abandoning God, “the Fount of living water”, and 2) embracing broken cisterns “which cannot even hold water.”
• What are the true sources of nourishment and vitality that our society is abandoning?
• What values and ways of being do we cling to that will never be sustaining and healthy?
• What do we need to do to change course?
JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.