![Torah & Haftarah](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/themes/jts/dist/img/logo_red_bush.jpeg)
Torah & Haftarah
Torah Readings Shavuot Day 1 Shavuot Day 2 Haftarah Readings Shavuot Day 1 Shavuot Day 2
Read More![Revelation at Sinai](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/themes/jts/dist/img/logo_red_bush.jpeg)
Revelation at Sinai
Both of the images below reflect the awe and wonder at Sinai, reflecting two types of revelation: both the perception of God’s presence and the manifestation of God’s will through the laws of the Torah. These 19th Century prints from Special Collections of the JTS Library highlight the overwhelming presence of this moment. Text Who […]
Read More![Remembering Together](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/plevan-300x300.jpg)
Remembering Together
Apr 22, 2022 By William Plevan | Commentary | Pesah
The celebration of Pesah is an outstanding example of the central role that memory plays in Jewish tradition. Underscoring the importance of memory for sustaining human societies, Elie Wiesel wrote, “Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.” Communal memory, of course, goes far beyond what any one individual can remember and experience. And yet, what makes memory so powerful as a vehicle for communal identity is that it speaks to us on a personal level.
Read More![Which Is “Wiser”: The Story of the Exodus or the Laws of Pesah?](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/jeremy-300x300.jpg)
Which Is “Wiser”: The Story of the Exodus or the Laws of Pesah?
Apr 15, 2022 By Jeremy Tabick | Commentary | Pesah
One of the core aspects of the Torah’s Pesah commentary is the education of the participants. In its very introduction, in the reading for the first day of Pesah, the concern of education is placed front and center: “When your children will ask you, ‘What is this service for you?’ you will say, ‘It is a pesah sacrifice to God . . .’” (Exod. 12:26–27). Indeed, justifying the practice of Pesah to children comes up in the Torah no less than four times.
Read More![Passover Learning](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/themes/jts/dist/img/logo_red_bush.jpeg)
Passover Learning
Collected Video, Commentary, and more from JTS scholars to broaden the holiday of Pesah
Read More![Purim Eve On (and Off) Broadway!](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Rabbi-Jan-Uhrbach-300x300.jpg)
Purim Eve On (and Off) Broadway!
Mar 16, 2022 By Jan Uhrbach | Public Event video | Purim
Watch the parody songs: View the whole service: For Ma’ariv (Evening Service) and Megillat Esther (Book of Esther), we will be using the Rabbinical Assembly’s newly published volume featuring a new translation of Esther by Dr. Pamela Barmash, an alumna of JTS’s Rabbinical School, and the translation of the evening service from Siddur Lev Shalem. […]
Read More![Six Days Shall You Labor: Shabbat and the Meaning of Work](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/david_kraemer-300x300.jpg)
Six Days Shall You Labor: Shabbat and the Meaning of Work
Oct 4, 2021 By David C. Kraemer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Shabbat, a day on which “work” is forbidden, also offers a commentary on work—on its place in our lives, its importance, and its limitations. Notably, the rabbinic Sabbath—that is, the “traditional” Sabbath—offers a perspective that differs from that of the Torah, both original and unique. Join Dr. David Kraemer to explore biblical and rabbinic views of the Sabbath as commentaries on the significance of work.
Read More![The Values of a Jewish Home](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Matt_Berkowitz_updated_headshot-300x300.jpg)
The Values of a Jewish Home
Apr 16, 2021 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Metzora | Tazria | Yom Hazikaron-Yom Ha'atzma'ut
In the precious days “Before the Coronavirus Era” (B.C.E.), the parshiyot of Tazria-Metzora seemed wholly disconnected from our lives, presenting the perennial challenge of relevance (or irrelevance) to even the most talented darshan (sermonizer). How are we to connect leprous plagues attacking both body and abode to our daily lives? And to what extent does the experience of quarantine resonate with our modern reality? These are only two of the many questions that we would have posed in a pre-Covid world.