The Wholeness of a Broken Tablet
Jul 31, 2020 By Naomi Kalish | Commentary | Va'et-hannan | Tishah Be'av
Parashat Va’et-hannan (Deut. 3–7) is always read on Shabbat Nahamu—the “Shabbat of Comfort”—which falls immediately after Tishah Be’av, the day when we commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temples. It receives its name from the opening line of the Haftarah: “Comfort, comfort, my people” (Isaiah 40:1).
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Faith, Forgiveness and Prayer: Finding Meaning in the Days of Awe
Aug 31, 2020 By Jan Uhrbach | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur
A series of online classes with JTS faculty and staff
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The Ten Commandments in 20/20
May 26, 2020 By Eliezer B. Diamond | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Shavuot
The Ten Commandments, read on the first day of Shavuot, are a foundational text of Judaism. But their prominence is also a puzzle. Why were these statements singled out from all other mitzvot to be publicly proclaimed to all Israel? What gives these brief pronouncements their distinctive significance?
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Ruth’s Torah Matters Now
May 28, 2020 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Commentary | Shavuot
Like every Jewish holiday, Shavuot has seasonal and historical components. It celebrates the gifts of Torah and of the spring harvest. Both bounties manifest God’s glory, sustain Israel, and are captured masterfully by our liturgy.
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JTS Seder Supplement for the COVID-19 Pandemic
Apr 6, 2020 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Collected Resources | Pesah
Selected thoughts on the Haggadah in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
Passover in the Time of Coronavirus
Apr 3, 2020 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Pesah
What a difference a year makes—or a week, or a day. Last year at this time, reflecting on a period of rising anti-Semitism in America and Europe, I wrote that “discussion at your seder table will be different from all Passovers past.” This year, many of those discussions will happen virtually, and attendance at physical seder tables will likely be limited to close family or friends. Many people may be sitting at the seder table alone. The plague is upon us, striking every part of the world without regard to national border or religion. The holiday will not be the same, because we are not the same.
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