Ta Shma

Is it worth persisting in prayer, even if we aren’t answered right away? What does it mean to pray for something for years—or even decades? Moshe can serve as one model for addressing these questions.

Anyone living in America today will eventually encounter racism they cannot easily fix or change, just as our ancestors could not entirely avoid or correct idolatry. What do we do when that happens? How can we reject ideas as pervasive and corrosive as racism? The Talmud’s reflections on the struggle against idolatry raise similar questions and offer instructions on how to actively demonstrate objection through our behavior so that we do not unintentionally uphold the status quo. The anti-idol mandate can teach us a lot about how to live in a culture we see as fundamentally evil, even when we do not have the power to change it. Transferring idolatry to racism, the entire tractate of Avodah Zarah can be read as an attempt to think through how to live an anti-racist life.

Our most fundamental prayer, the Amidah, doesn’t mention Moshe by name. But the scene of Moshe at the burning bush is one of the central images of the Amidah’s first blessing. How does Moshe’s subtle presence change how we might experience the opening of the Amidah?

Are you permitted to lie if the truth might be worse? In this series, Dena Weiss considers Jewish texts that span time and space in order to arrive at a set of concrete guidelines and best practices for having painful conversations. This lecture was originally delivered as part of Hadar's Winter Lecture Series in January 2021.

Where is God in my life and why am I stuck in a difficult place? Will God ever intervene on my behalf, and help me—and all of us—come to a better place? What if I am skeptical if God can rescue at all? These are questions so often on the mind of those who pray. How do our prayer texts themselves give voice to some of these wonderings?

How do you share painful or unsettling news? In this series, Dena Weiss considers Jewish texts that span time and space in order to arrive at a set of concrete guidelines and best practices for having painful conversations. This lecture was originally delivered as part of Hadar's Winter Lecture Series in January 2021.

How might we come closer to God in prayer? What are the physical acts that deepen the potential for relationship with God while praying? The rabbinic understanding of Yehudah’s actions offers some insight on these questions.

What do you say—or not say—to someone who has lost a family member? In this series, Dena Weiss considers Jewish texts that span time and space in order to better understand those types of situations and arrive at a set of concrete guidelines and best practices for having painful conversations.This lecture was originally delivered as part of Hadar's Winter Lecture Series in January 2021.

What do miracles tell us about God’s presence? How do we define the miraculous? Where does one miracle begin and human agency end? In this series, originally recorded in December 2021, we'll explore a text from Hadar's Hanukkah 5782 Companion, illuminating the evolving relationship between humanity and miracles. 

How are we meant to admit sin in our prayers? What is the model for confession after having done something wrong?