JTS Torah Commentary

Saul Bellow’s Spiritual Quest

May 8, 2013

Greg Bellow discussed with JTS Chancellor Arnold M. Eisen what it was like to grow up with legendary author Saul Bellow as a father, as well as the older Bellow’s personal, religious, and spiritual life.

Yours? Mine? Ours? Economies for a Sustainable Earth

Apr 25, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

A panel discussion sponsored by the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies of JTS. 

Heschel and Kaplan: Cross Sections and Intersections

Apr 18, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Dr. Susannah Heschel, as the devoted student of her father’s (Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel) life and thought, and Dr. Mel Scult, as biographer of Rabbi Morecai M. Kaplan and scholar of his voluminous diaries, discuss the private lives of Kaplan and Heschel, the relationship between them over many years of teaching at JTS, and their contributions as Jewish public intellectuals.

Building Bridges Among Jews

Apr 16, 2013

“Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh.” “All of Israel are responsible for one another.” Dr. Ruth Calderon of the Knesset discusses, how in an ever global world, Jews from all paths can join together and “build bridges.”

Israel and Us: Responsibilities, Commitments, and Opportunities

Apr 10, 2013 By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video

A special address given by Chancellor Arnold M. Eisen of the Jewish Theological Seminary entitled “Israel and Us: Responsibilities, Commitments, and Opportunities” in honor of The State of Israel’s 64th year of independence, Yom Ha’atzma’ut 5772/2012

Justice, Tzedek, Sadaqah: Pursuing Social Justice in Multi-faith Communities

Feb 21, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

This multi-faith panel of “elders” discusses how multi-faith communities have influenced social justice over the past two decades, what are the current issues being addressed, and what is still to be accomplished. They offer insight into how young activists can play a pivotal role in accomplishing some of these key objectives and what it will mean for the future of this country and our place in a global society.

Warfare in the 21st Century: 5 Questions with General Norton A. Schwartz

Feb 4, 2013

Has the fundamental nature of war changed? Should Jewish values play in how and when we engage in conflict? General Norton A. Schwartz discusses this regarding warfare in the 21st century.

Memory on Trial: Evaluating Eyewitness Identification Evidence In The 21st Century

Jan 23, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Shalom, Shalom, Yet There is No Peace: Waging Peace and Making War

Dec 13, 2012 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

How can the United States defend its freedoms? What is required to promote peace around the world? And, what was it like to be the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the US military?

The Fiction of Teshuvah

Nov 20, 2012

Does anyone ever really change their ways? Can we become “someone new”? Is teshuvah really possible, or is it just fiction? Best-selling authors Susan Isaacs and Linda Fairstein as they discuss this topic through the characters in their books.

Judaism Without Revelation?

Oct 5, 2012

“Can There Be Judaism Without Revelation?” As part of the Tikvah Institute’s lecture series on Contemporary Jewish Philosophy, Professor Michael Morgan from the University of Toronto delivers a talk on just how necessary a central point of Jewish belief system truly is.

Maimonides and the Messiah

Oct 5, 2012

Professor Kenneth Seeskin, Northwestern University, discusses “Maimonides on the Days of the Messiah—Restorative or Utopian?”

On Holiness

Oct 5, 2012

If holiness is defined as transcendence, how does one emulate God’s transcendence? Dr. Lenn Goodman delivers a lecture relating to this topic.

The Renewal of the Covenant

Oct 5, 2012

The third in a series on Contemporary Jewish Philosophy by The Tikvah Institute for Jewish Thought at JTS, Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg delivers a lecture entitled “The Renewal of the Covenant- Humanity Come of Age.”

Zionism and Jewish Theology

Oct 5, 2012

Dr. David Novak of the University of Toronto, delivers a talk entitled “Zionism and Jewish Theology” as part of a series on Contemporary Jewish Theology by The Tikvah Institute for Jewish Thought of The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS).

Doing Jewish Theology Today

Oct 5, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video

What does it mean to be a Jew in the modern world? Professor Arnold Eisen, Rabbi Julie Roth, Rabbi Gordon Tucker, and Rabbi Neil Gillman discuss this topic throughout the program, “Doing Jewish Theology Today: God, Torah, and Israel in Modern Judaism.”

Gillman on Gillman

Oct 5, 2012 By Neil Gillman (z”l) | Public Event video

What does it mean to be a Jew in the modern world? Professor Arnold Eisen, Rabbi Julie Roth, Rabbi Gordon Tucker, and Rabbi Neil Gillman discuss this topic throughout the program, “Doing Jewish Theology Today: God, Torah, and Israel in Modern Judaism.”

God As Immanent

Oct 5, 2012 By Gordon Tucker | Public Event video

What does it mean to be a Jew in the modern world? Rabbi Gordon Tucker describes a vision of an immanent God. A clip from “Doing Jewish Theology Today: God, Torah, and Israel in Modern Judaism.”

God on Campus

Oct 5, 2012 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

What does it mean to be a Jew in the modern world? Rabbi Julie Roth reflects on the role of God and theology in the lives of college students. A clip from “Doing Jewish Theology Today: God, Torah, and Israel in Modern Judaism.”

Preaching the Gospel of Martin Luther King Jr.

Oct 5, 2012

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became famous in his protests that advocated for the equal treatment of African Americans. Reverend Dr. James Alexander Forbes Jr., the senior minister emeritus of Riverside Church in New York City and president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation delivers a lecture continuing on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophies.