Ta Shma

How are we meant to orient to our day when we wake up? In what ways can a short blessing about God opening our eyes set our intention for the day to come?

As we watch storms surge and fires burn, the changing climate has moved from an abstract fear to an ever-present reality. The enormity of this crisis demands a complex type of faith, a different kind of prayer, and a theological reckoning. How can we bring our fears and hopes to God? What might it look like to pray about climate change? In the Dr. Eddie Scharfman Memorial Lecture from January 2023...

Ideally, prayer is a pouring out of the soul. But in Jewish practice today, people don’t only pray when they feel moved to pray. We are mandated to say the Amidah multiple times a day, and we can’t guarantee that each of those moments will be characterized by intention, or kavanah . Should I pray even if I don’t know if my heart will be in it?

Growth is gradual, so slow in fact that it cannot be tracked in real time. We need an annual date as a marker of a specific moment, before and after seasons of change. Like all birthdays, Tu Bishvat invites us to celebrate, to notice the beauty in slow growth, and to appreciate the potential of what is yet to be born.

What does it mean to pray to God when we are experiencing pain? One approach understands God as intricately tied to our suffering, and indeed, in need of redemption as well. How might we understand that position, and where is it found in the liturgy?

Rabbi Tali Adler teaches a beautiful combination of midrashim about the lulav and etrog—which completely rethinks our relationship with God and God’s relationship with us. Before and after, Joey Weisenberg plays one of his original compositions. Recorded in Summer 2020 as part of a course "Melody and Midrash."

How do we relate to our enemies through prayer? Can we pray for their failure? Might we ever pray for their welfare?

Our rabbis imagine an intense confrontation between Eli the high priest and Hannah, our model for how we recite the Amidah. Explore this fascinating midrash and think about the power of prayer in the hands of forgotten members of society. This lecture was originally delivered at the Summer Learning Retreat in 2021.

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 obj...

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?

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. 

As we begin to close the Amidah, in the penultimate blessing that we call Modim, we say to God: “ modim anahnu lakh ,” we modim you. Drawing from the root י-ד-ה, the word modim has multiple meanings, each offering very different understandings of this blessing. This root word is also core to what it means to be a Jew, as it is the root word of Judaism (יהדות) and describes two aspects of the name...

The sudden death of Aaron's sons Nadav and Avihu leaves readers stunned and grappling for answers. By turning to a modern midrash in the form of an original short theatre piece written by R. Avi Strausberg, we attempt to pause time and make space to not only understand the motivations for their offerings, but also how their sudden deaths impacted their mother, their father, and their remainin...

Ya’akov is preparing to encounter God directly through sacrifice, an analog to our experience of prayer. It has been decades since Ya’akov actually encountered God in this way, and now he is preparing for this transition back into direct relationship. Critically, Ya’akov prepares by asking everyone to purify themselves and to change their clothes. What is the significance of changing clothes?

In our prayers, we do not shy away from calling God directly by name, using the most holy four-letter name of God (although we don’t pronounce it explicitly). What might this name mean, and what might it mean in the context of prayer?

Our tradition sometimes uses the image of a shadow to describe human experience with God. This rich metaphor, which captures both a sense of safety and shelter as well as darkness and fear, helps R. Aviva to reflect on where we find ourselves in the complex and ongoing story of God and the Jewish people. This lecture was originally delivered at Hadar's Summer Learning Retreat in June 2022.

A major theme of Parashat Toldot is “ברכה - blessing.” This root appears 32 times in this parashah, more than in any other in the Torah. In prayer, we use the Hebrew root ב.ר.כ as the main verb of our blessing formula. What does it mean to say, “ברוך אתה ה׳ - barukh attah Adonai,” usually translated as, “Blessed are You, God”?