Ta Shma

The tenth blessing in the daily Amidah, which asks God to return those in exile, begins, “Sound the great shofar for our freedom…” What kind of freedom are we praying for? And why does a shofar blast herald this freedom?

VaYikra Rabbah is one of the great midrashic collections from the land of Israel in the Talmudic period. In this 4-part class, we will examine one midrash each week, learning to appreciate the craft of this unique genre while holding tight to its spiritual messages.

One of the themes in Sefer Vayikra is the holiness of God. God calls Godself holy five times in the book. In some ways, this is the opposite of our liturgical experience, where we, the worshipers, address God directly and call God holy. What does it mean to say to God as part of our daily prayer: “You are holy”?

Redemption cannot happen without everyone. We learn this lesson from the Seder ritual, when we open our homes by inviting guests and asserting that all who are hungry come and eat. But the idea of radical inclusion is perhaps most clearly found in the laws of the pesah sacrifice itself. Every person should join a group that will offer the pesah sacrifice and eat the entire offering together. Nobod...

The Kaddish contains an anomaly: a liturgical phrase used to respond to God's name, but no triggering mention of God's name. Noting God’s missing name in the prayer, how are we meant to experience the Kaddish? This is a prayer that highlights our sense of the reality in which we dwell, where God’s presence is often experienced as distant. In a world with so much suffering and destruction...

The concept of the “קדושת הארץ - sanctity of the Land” simultaneously gives meaning to, and creates a tremendous challenge to, life in the State of Israel. Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, the birthday of the State of Israel, is an opportunity to ask: What is the meaning of living in a place to which holiness is attributed? In what ways is it possible, worthwhile, and appropriate to exist on a daily basis in that...

Asking God for healing is a core aspect of prayer. But the ideal form of this prayer (as expressed in the Amidah) pushes us to widen the circle of our concern. What is the proper model for prayers of healing?

There is no Judaism—no understanding of Jewish history or culture or theology—without accounting for the Shoah. This part of the Jewish story is now canon. For the past eighty years, we have encountered this story directly from the people who endured it. When this last generation of survivors are gone, what will change? How will their absence impoverish us? How will their memory and lessons live o...

Imagine how Aharon must have felt, watching his sons die, on what should have been the greatest day of his life: the inauguration of the system of sacrifices meant to draw God and Israel closer to one another. What is the emotional stance encouraged by the Mourner’s Kaddish? How might the words of Mourner’s Kaddish reflect the grief that mourners experience?

What can cleaning for Pesah teach us about the limits  ownership and responsibility? R. Avi Killip shares reflections on the holiday from this year's Hadar Pesah Reader, "L'Or haNer: The Light of Discovery."

How can God command us to feel a particular emotion? While we often can't change feelings on demand, Shabbat offers a pathway for how actions and rituals can cultivate emotions.  "Mitteler Rebbe's Kapelya" and "Nigun Hisva'adus" from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar's Rising Song Records.

How are we meant to conclude the Amidah? What is the emotional orientation to the end of an intense encounter with God?

Every single Jewish soul is as integral to the Jewish people as every letter in the Torah scroll. No person is dispensable.  "Mitteler Rebbe's Kapelya" and "Nigun Hisva'adus" from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar's Rising Song Records.

It can feel impossible to approach an infinite and all-powerful God. But God desires closeness with us, with the limited power that we do have, in all of our imperfections and humanity.                                                                       "Mitteler Rebbe's Kapelya" and "Nigun Hisva'adus" from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weise...

There are many instances in our prayers where we repeat phrases, paragraphs, or whole sections. What is the significance of repetition in prayer? God's repeated calls of "Moshe, Moshe!" can help us look at this repetition in new ways.

On Shabbat, the liturgy is missing a central element: petitioning for our needs. What is the purpose of prayer on Shabbat and what can it teach us about having a relationship with God?                                                                "Mitteler Rebbe's Kapelya" and "Nigun Hisva'adus" from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg an...

The revelation at Mt Sinai transformed the relationship between God and Jewish people. After the sin of the Golden Calf, both had to find a way to move forward - not in spite of their broken-heartedness, but because of it.  "Mitteler Rebbe's Kapelya" and "Nigun Hisva'adus" from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar...

The rhythm of our week includes a day dedicated to feeling God’s presence differently from the rest of the week: Shabbat. A prayer recited only on Shabbat, beginning with the words Yismah Moshe (“Moshe rejoiced”), explores our connection to God and Shabbat through the lens of Moshe’s experience of God.

Welcome to a new mini-series for Ta Shma, the Tisch with Dena Weiss: A Taste of Hasidut. Each episode will feature bite-sized insights from Hasidic thought on spirituality, ethics, and character development. These episodes are short – but they are packed with big ideas. But first: what is Hasidut? How is it like or unlike other kinds of Jewish learning, and why should more people try it? To set th...

Moshe asks to know God’s ways. But this is not a philosophical exploration about the nature of God. It is a question with a purpose. What is the knowledge we need in order to pray and to connect to God? How might this knowledge help us approach God, even if we might feel distant from God’s presence?

The revelation at Sinai is a high point in the Jewish story. It is the moment when God gives us the mitzvot—and we accept them. But, the Talmud tells us that the commandments were actually accepted twice: once at Sinai, and again in Persia, during the time of Ahashverosh. Exploring these two moments in tandem allows us to see how personal empowerment can lead us to approach God with love.

In the moment of prayer, how are we meant to feel close to God, beyond reciting the words of the Siddur? How might we feel a connection to God through our tactile experiences? The plate of the High Priest ( tzitz ) and our tefillin hold some answers.

One of the classic questions about the book of Esther is: why isn’t God mentioned? What does this mean for the book and for us? R. Shai Held explored some of the most vexing theological questions in this recording from summer 2017.

If God’s presence fills the whole world, why does it seem easier to connect to God in some places rather than others? This paradox is central to understanding the concept of the mishkan , God’s dwelling place on earth.

The midrashic composition, Shir HaShirim Rabbah, develops the allegorical reading of Song of Songs as a love story between Israel and God. The verse "Let God kiss me with the kisses of God's mouth," for example, is read as reflecting a close, even radically close, intimacy between Israel and God. According to the midrash, the verse implies an instance of direct and close-up interact...