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.
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Repentence and the Mystical ‘Rope’: The Divine/Human Relationship in Jewish Thought
Sep 16, 2024 By Shira Billet | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur
One of the most striking images of the divine-human relationship in Jewish thought is the kabbalistic image of a rope or cord that extends from God in the heavens into the soul of the human being. We explore a diverse array of Jewish thinkers over the centuries who have found this metaphor meaningful, especially in times of challenge and suffering, giving them hope to continue to strive to become closer to God. In the context of the High Holiday season, we give special attention to connections between this metaphor and themes and liturgies of the High Holiday season.
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Terumah—The Gift That Elevates
Feb 16, 2024 By Eitan Fishbane | Commentary | Terumah
Sometimes we all feel like we’re giving more than we get, that we do more than our share, or that our individual needs are being sacrificed for the sake of someone else’s happiness. It is an emotional struggle that we encounter in our families and friendships. Why should I give when the other person doesn’t reciprocate in the way that I would want? If I give, will I also get what I deserve?
Read MoreLove in Dark Times: Friendship and Eros in Jewish Theology, Literature, and Ethics
Oct 25, 2023 By JTS Team | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Explore themes of love and friendship in Jewish thought with a panel of preeminent scholars. We will examine the complex and central place of love and longing in modern Hebrew literature, Jewish theology, and ethics, and consider what this rich intellectual tradition can offer for contemporary political lif
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Between the Lines: Qohelet
Oct 18, 2023 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Sukkot
In Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, philosopher Menachem Fisch and artist Debra Band together probe the biblical thinker’s inquiry into the value of life “under the sun.”
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Persecuting Ideas: The Case of Maimonides
Nov 7, 2022 By Alan Mittleman | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Maimonides, the greatest Jewish figure of the Middle Ages, incorporated philosophy into his work. Both during his lifetime and afterwards, especially in Europe, Maimonides’ embrace of philosophy aroused opposition. A great controversy, lasting more than a century after his death, broke out in four distinct waves. The most philosophical sections of his work were banned, as was the study of philosophy and teaching of it to youth.
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Jewish Theology in America, Today and Tomorrow
May 23, 2022 By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Professor Eisen explores recent developments in Jewish thought about God and what God requires of us as Jews and human beings against the background of past Jewish thought, recent work by non-Jewish thinkers, and Professor Eisen’s own theological reflections in the age of COVID.
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Sufferings Large and Small
Dec 15, 2020 By Sarah Wolf | Public Event video | Video Lecture
The ancient Rabbis struggled with the classic problem of theodicy: why would God let terrible things happen to good people? But they also struggled with what may seem like a more contemporary problem: if suffering is supposed to be meaningful in some way, is there any significance to our more mundane, everyday disappointments? Explore the rabbis’ perhaps surprising take both on what counts as “suffering” and what it ultimately means.
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