JTS Torah Commentary

The Future of Catholic-Jewish Relations

Catholic-Jewish dialogue has flourished since the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council’s 1965 Decree on non-Christian religions, Nostra Aetate. His Eminence Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the first African American cardinal in the Catholic Church, discusses the history of that dialogue and to explore how current discussions might guide Catholic-Jewish relations in the future.

JTS High Holiday Webinars 2022

Join JTS in preparing for this 5783 High Holiday season with two meaningful and enriching sessions. 

High Holiday Webinars

Join JTS in preparing for the High Holiday season with meaningful and enriching sessions led by faculty.

Dangerous Ideas: Censorship Through a Jewish Lens

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Throughout Jewish history, certain texts and ideas have been deemed too dangerous to circulate—whether by outsiders who banned Jewish writings, or Jewish leaders who suppressed ideas considered heretical or beyond the pale. In this series, JTS scholars will examine efforts to control knowledge from ancient to contemporary times, exploring the ways in which censorship both reflects and shapes broader ideological struggles. They will discuss the varying motivations for controlling or revising narratives, and consider whether and under what circumstances it might make sense to suppress certain ideas. These discussions will illuminate past struggles and help us understand the battles over censorship and free expression playing out today. 

Whose Law? Christians and Jews Rethink the Pharisees

Throughout the centuries, in Christian writings and homilies, the Pharisees have been called legalistic, money-loving, self-righteous hypocrites. That definition has become a label applied to Jews in general as well as any persons or groups the speaker or writer despised. For Jews, however, the Pharisees are respected teachers of the past who are in some way the predecessors of all forms of modern Judaism.
Who were the Pharisees, really? And why does this question matter today?

Purim on Broadway

Complete Purim services from the JTS, featuring the megillah reading and much holiday merriment. Purim Eve On (and Off) Broadway 2022/5782 Purim Off Broadway 2021/5781 Purim On Broadway 2020/5780 Purim On Broadway 2018/5778

The Dynamics of Change

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Change is an integral part of life and a central feature of the Jewish experience. Join JTS scholars for an in-depth exploration of significant changes—religious, political, and personal—throughout Jewish history and life. Together we’ll consider core questions such as: What inspires change? What circumstances are most conducive to change, and what (or who) drives it? How do we experience change and adapt to its impact? How can Jewish values and ideas inspire us to change the world for the better?   

Cultivating a Habit of Generosity

By Eliezer B. Diamond | Public Event video

Part of the Global Day of Jewish Learning. With Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, PhD, Rabbi Judah Nadich Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS  What is the relationship between our level of generosity and our beliefs, our attitudes, and our actions? For Rav Eliyahu Dessler (1892–1953, Belarus/England/Israel), love, faith, empathy, and social bonding are consequences of generosity—not its causes. In […]

The John Leopold and Martha Dellheim Senior Recital 2024

Graduating cantorial students, Gedalia Penner-Robinson, Ingrid Barnett, David Childs, Max Silverstone, and Neal Taibel, share their talents and their vision for the 21st-century cantorate. The recitals feature a wide range of Jewish music in Hebrew, Ladino, and Yiddish, as well as hazzanut, and Israeli traditional and pop songs. Choral works, and compositions written and composed by our graduates, will also be performed. The soloists, along with guest artists, are accompanied by pianist Joyce Rosenzweig, JTS adjunct instructor, and the combined Choir of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, conducted by Hazzan Natasha Hirschhorn.

JTS High Holiday Webinars 2024

Prepare for 5785 with three meaningful, enriching sessions.

Seeking the Hiding God: A Personal Theological Essay

By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

To mark this period of spiritual atonement and reflection, Dr. Eisen discussed his rich, original, and moving work and invite us to ask, perhaps for the first time, what we actually believe about ultimate matters of faith and doubt. Those of us searching for ultimate meaning will find reassurance that the search itself can be a source of personal fulfillment, vibrant community, and great joy. The book’s three chapters include a Passover Seder with its theme of past and future redemption; the Yom Kippur liturgy that guides worshippers through the difficult work of atonement, forgiveness and return; and the day-to-day responsibilities, personal and communal, of covenant, mitzvah, and love. 

Zionism: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond – Expanding the Conversation

What does it mean to be a Zionist in 21st Century North America? The JTS Convening, “Zionism: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond” is a two-day program which will explore this and other questions. In this webinar series, we expand on these conversations, presenting both the significant insights and debate that emerged, as well as enhancing the context that is informing contemporary issues. JTS faculty will highlight the political, religious, and philosophical perspectives that shape the current landscape for Jews in North America in relationship with Israel.