Ta Shma

Bringing Your Tears: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #14

God, understandably, demands the first and the best. In the Torah, this mostly is about agricultural produce. But the Degel Mahaneh Efrayim extends this idea to the best part of ourselves: yes, our successes, but also—perhaps more importantly—our failures, our tears. “Ah Shtarker Bistu,” “Mitteler Rebbe,” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” are from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Re'eih: Calling God “Our Father” in Prayer

In many prayers, we call God “אבינו - our Father.” What biblical allusions are we drawing on when we say this, and what are we trying to express when we call God “our Father” in prayer?

A God By Many Names: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #13

It's almost impossible to imagine people with more different life experiences than Moshe and the Israelites. Moshe grew up in the palace; the Israelites were building palaces as slaves. It seems impossible that they'll be able to talk to each other, because our images of Who God is are so rooted in our life experiences. We learn from Moshe how to be humble in listening to the experiences of others. “Keyli Ata,” “Mitteler Rebbe,” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

Your Better Half: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #12

Ours is a culture of media consumption in large and often indiscriminate amounts. This is in part because we don’t view ourselves as transforming and being transformed by all of these inputs. But perhaps the question is in fact a far deeper question about identity. Perhaps we need to acknowledge the extent to which the culture we consume is a culture that we participate in and help promulgate. “Mitteler Rebbe” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Eikev: The Meaning(s) of “Great, Mighty, and Awesome”

What does it mean to call God “great, mighty, and awesome,” as we do in the first blessing of the Amidah? Perhaps we are praising God as creator of the world, or redeemer of the Jewish people through miracles. After all, these are “great, mighty, and awesome” acts, which humans could never perform. But the biblical context of this phrase points in a very different direction.

Spiritually Welcoming: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #11

Avraham is the epitome of the kind and gracious host. But there's more to the alchemy between hosts and guests than just the practicality of dietary restrictions and clean sheets. The Ba'al Shem Tov, as told by his grandson, the Degel Mahaneh Efrayim, explores the Torah that comes from this interaction, and the idea that Avraham still got something from his guests, without undermining the selflessness of his mitzvah. “Mitteler Rebbe” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

R. Avi Killip on Tisha B'Av: How We Choose to (Re)Build

Recent years have pushed us to examine the foundational structures of so much in our world. Previously unthinkable realities have called into question the stability of systems we believed to be stone-clad. On the global level, we never imagined a pandemic, fragile democracies or a multi-year war in europe. In so many ways we have had to face the fact that what we thought would be around forever turned out to be unstable. Over and over again we have been surprised to see what might burn.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Devarim: Praying for our Religious Leaders

We often think of prayer as motivated by personal needs: I pray for myself or others close to me. But one of our prayers specifically asks us to focus more broadly and pray for our religious leaders. Why is this so important?

R. Miriam-Simma Walfish: Hunger in the Streets of Jerusalem

How do we—and ought we—respond to suffering? R. Miriam-Simma explores stories in the Talmud that express the extent of Jerusalem's destruction through a focus on food. Recorded on Tisha B'Av 2022.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Mattot-Mas'ei: Why Praise God in Prayer?

R. Tali Adler: The Hidden Destruction of Shiloh

Before the destruction of the first and second temples, Shiloh was destroyed. Discussed in Yirmiyahu and alluded to in Shmuel, Shiloh is the spiritual center that we often overlook in Jewish history, and whose destruction and its lessons we too often forget. How can Shiloh's destruction inform what we mourn for today? Recorded at Tisha B'Av 2022.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Pinhas: Fixed and Spontaneous Words of Prayer

Why is there a fixed liturgy to the Amidah? After all, if I am meant to pray to God with focus and intention, shouldn’t I use my own personal words, and not words that were written by others long ago?

R. Avi Killip on 17 Tammuz: When Longing is the Relationship

Those who mourn tremendous losses know that the rupture is ongoing and often cannot be contained by marking a single anniversary. When was the last celebration we shared? When did they first get sick? When did hospice start? When was the last time we spoke? Marking several dates can be painful, but also sometimes enlivening. The annual moments of memory provide ongoing connection to relationships that would otherwise begin to fade. They allow us to keep the memory alive and ever present. To love someone who has died is to be in a constant state of longing for them. The longing is the relationship.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Hukkat-Balak: Praying to God as a King

What does it mean to call God a king in our prayers? What kind of king is God, and how might we as worshipers engage with that metaphor?

R. Shai Held: The Radical Social and Theological Vision of Deutoronomy

A close reading of Devarim 15 explores such questions as: What kind of social ethic does Devarim seek to instill? How does it work to ensure that there will be no permanent underclass in the land of Israel? What strategies does it use to motivate people to treat one another generously? How does Devarim radicalize the laws from Shemot? Recorded at Limmud NA 2023.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Korah: Striving to be Holy

In ancient times, in order to come as close as possible to God’s presence in the Temple, one had to be considered holy—fully purified and separate. When we pray to God today, must we be in a similar state of holiness? How might we relate to the concept of human holiness in our prayer life?

R. Micha'el Rosenberg: Righteous Anger, Useful Anger

Even though the dominant view of anger in Jewish tradition is that it is a bad character trait that should be avoided, there is one passage from the Talmud that suggests anger can be productive or even necessary in certain circumstances. In his class, “Righteous Anger, Useful Anger,” Rav Micha’el puts this sugya into conversation with modern philosophical takes on anger, especially an article by Amia Srinivasan. What comes out of this comparison is a fascinating and nuanced discussion of what anger is for and whether anger can ever be useful, productive—or even good.

Let it Move You: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #10

One of the distinctive features of traditional Jewish prayer and study is shuckling, moving back and forth. The Zohar explains that this movement of the body is more accurately understood as the movement of the soul. The spirit of holiness and purity moves in response to the connection that it feels when engaging with holy words. The body is moved by the passion and excitement that the soul feels in connecting with God. The Kedushat Levi links this motion back and forth with a core human trait: our fear of intimacy, going toward the fire of revelation, but pulling back as well. How can we navigate this tension? “Yemin Hashem” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Shelah: Speaking Directly to a God Who Sees Us

Moshe addresses God three times in one verse with the word “You.” In our prayers, we speak directly to God, calling God “You.” Why is this so, and what is the significance of addressing God in this way?

Judging with the Whole Picture: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #9

When the Torah outlines the need for judges and enforcers, it takes pains to say that they should judge the people with a righteous judgment - but isn’t justice that is not righteous not justice at all? Why does the Torah need to underscore the need for tzedek, righteousness? And how does Kedushat Levi understand God’s system of justice? “Yemin Hashem” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.