Ta Shma

Parashat Terumah opens with a divine request. God asks the Children of Israel for a contribution to achieve a specific goal: “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). The entire parashah, along with its layers of midrash, serves as a blueprint for how God seeks to be together with us—and how we can be together with others, even in an encounter that might otherwise seem impossible.  

A deep dive into the Torah's repeated command to love the stranger-sojourner. Clear distinctions between love of God, neighbor, and the outsider are drawn. Texts from Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy are used to explore memory, legal protections, and communal responsibility. The talk links biblical narratives of vulnerability to a call for ethical society and warns against dehumanizing the vulnerable.

Parashat Mishpatim shines a spotlight on human beings and their responsibility for the rest of others on Shabbat. 

A deep dive into midrash and the rabbinic imagination. Close readings of grammar and tiny textual clues spark creative reinterpretation. Textual puzzles meet personal and communal anxieties to produce new meanings. Readings that treat scripture with affectionate, attentive scrutiny reshape tradition.

The Torah describes a moving encounter between Yitro and Moshe, in which Moshe shares his journey and experiences.  A close reading of the details reveals that the Torah offers us a model for meaningful human connection—a way of meeting another person with openness, allowing space both to show and to be seen, to listen deeply and to receive with empathy.

Tu Bishvat is often called the “birthday of the trees.” There is also a reactionary trend to reject this framework of “birthday” and go back to its original, technical and halakhic purpose, which is found in the Mishnah.

The Torah describes: “Amalek came and fought with Israel at Refidim” (Exodus 17:8). Where does Amalek come from? What is the context out of which this war begins?  

On its face, it is a real anomaly in Jewish practice: we recite blessings before putting on tefillin or lighting Shabbat candles, but we don't recite any before we visit the sick or comfort a mourner.  In this session, we'll probe a range of sources that try to explain why that is, culminating in a careful examination of one of Maimonides' post-powerful and important essays about the role of character and virtue in Jewish life. Recorded at the Rabbinic Yeshiva Intensive 2025. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/RYI2025HeldWhyNoBlessingsInterpersonalMitzvot.pdf

Woven into the account of the Exodus are two distinct and seemingly contradictory images of the Children of Israel.  On one hand, they are a nation of oppressed slaves, redeemed from a bondage of both body and soul.  On the other, they appear as a vast, armed, and formidable group, driven out in haste by an Egypt terrified of their power.  The opening chapters of the Book of Exodus present these two narratives in parallel, without attempting to reconcile them.

This discussion dives into the profound impact of slavery as highlighted in Parashat Va’Era. Explore how Pharaoh’s success stripped the Israelites of their ability to listen and reflect. God’s promise to Moses offers hope amidst despair. Classical commentaries reveal that labor and fear create psychological paralysis, narrowing vision and eliminating possibilities for the future. The conversation draws parallels to modern issues like burnout, urging listeners to recognize and combat contemporary forms of oppression.