Ta Shma

Hadar Institute

Bringing you recent lectures, classes, and programs from the Hadar Institute, Ta Shma is where you get to listen in on the beit midrash. Come and listen on the go, at home, or wherever you are. Hosted by Rabbi Avi Killip of the Hadar Institute.

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780 episodes
Updated Monday

Episodes780

Newest first

Jul 27, 2022 · 9 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Mattot-Masei: Moshe's Second Song
In Parashat Masei, Moshe receives detailed instructions about setting up cities of refuge. Unlike other mitzvot introduced as being relevant to when the people enter the land, Moshe can actually fulfill this mitzvah, at least in part. He makes sure to set aside three cities on the east side of the Jordan river before he dies. This may seem tragic, a desperate grasp for a taste of entering the land when the full experience is entirely shut off. Instead, we can see his efforts as a climax of his life’s work, a moment when his heart sang because he so deeply appreciated the meaning and importance of refuge.
Jul 25, 2022 · 1 hr 7 min
R. Yitz Greenberg: The Triumph of Life, Part 3
In the final part of this lecture series, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg speaks with Rabbi Tali Adler about how we can maximize the potential for life in our everyday actions. This lecture was originally recorded in Winter 2022 as part of a series in partnership with Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC.
Jul 20, 2022 · 9 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Pinchas: Moshe's Mitzvah for God
In this week’s parashah, we find a slight variation on one of the most common verses in the Torah. This minor shift in words reflects a profound revolution. At the end of his life, Moshe takes a leap in how he speaks to God, and how he shows up for the people.
Jul 18, 2022 · 1 hr 3 min
R. Yitz Greenberg: The Triumph of Life, Part 2
In the second part of his lecture series, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg speaks with Rabbi Aaron Alexander. Rabbi Greenberg explores the commandment to have children, quality of life, and situations where preserving life overrules religious obligations. This lecture was originally recorded in Winter 2022 as part of a series in partnership with Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC.
Jul 13, 2022 · 11 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Balak: A People’s Prophet, A Prophet’s People
In Parashat Balak, the ruler of Moav calls on Bilam to curse Israel. God ends up putting words of blessing in his mouth, and he speaks prophetically about the people of Israel. The episode raises questions about prophecy—when it is and isn’t present, and for whom.
Jul 11, 2022 · 1 hr 8 min
R. Yitz Greenberg: The Triumph of Life, Part 1
What does it mean to choose life in an imperfect world? Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, in conversation with Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, offers examples of how Judaism teaches us to repair the world in an effort to uphold the value of life. This lecture was originally recorded in Winter 2022 as part of a series in partnership with Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC.
Jul 6, 2022 · 9 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Chukkat: Critique and Creativity
In Parashat Chukkat, the people complain again about their food in the wilderness, but this complaint is different from earlier complaints. They don’t remember the food in Egypt with nostalgia, nor do they crave a particular item. They are disgusted with manna.
Jun 29, 2022 · 10 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Korach: Fire and Flower
In Parashat Korach, there are multiple accusations against Moshe and Aharon’s leadership and dramatic responses. Instead of viewing these through the lens of rebellion and punishment, one can view the various “demonstrations” as conveying divergent messages about the nature of God and what religious leadership looks like. Between the cracks of a fiery and violent display of God’s power, there is also a hint of a gentle, nourishing, but no less powerful, force.
Jun 27, 2022 · 26 min
Dena Weiss: Making Shabbat Your Own, Part 2
Dena Weiss studies the Meor Einayim and explores what it means to refrain from spiritual work, not just physical labor, on Shabbat. This lecture is part 2 in a series originally recorded in November 2021.
Jun 22, 2022 · 9 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Shelach: Believing in Ourselves, Owning Our Inheritance
In Parashat Shelach, twelve scouts scope out the promised land. They are on a mission to gain answers to specific questions, some about the land itself, and what kind of home it would be, and others about strategy for conquering the land. Fundamentally, it is a story of receiving an ancestral inheritance and doing the work to figure out what it will take to make it home.
Jun 20, 2022 · 1 hr 3 min
R. Shai Held: Wanting God Near Us
Rabbi Shai Held conducts a close reading of Psalm 139. He looks at the original Hebrew and multiple translations, arguing that the literary ambiguity showcases the psalmist’s relationship with God. This lecture was originally recorded in Summer 2020.
Jun 15, 2022 · 9 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat BeHa'alotekha: A Small and Steady Light
In the simple instruction to kindle lamps in the mishkan, our interpretive tradition leaps into a theological spiral. What is the relationship between human light and divine light? The human role in creating light in the world becomes an opportunity to delve into the question of significance, or insignificance, of our efforts, and whether a sense of embarrassment is constructive or inhibiting.
Jun 13, 2022 · 49 min
R. Avi Strausberg: I Cannot Tell a Lie... Or Can I?
If someone you wouldn’t endorse asks you for a recommendation, what would you say? Discussing the ethics around truth and lying, Rabbi Avi Strausberg presents multiple approaches to the topic and asks what to do when there may not be a clear answer. This lecture was recorded at the Hadar Rabbinic Yeshiva Intensive in 2020.
Jun 8, 2022 · 8 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Naso: One Mitzvah at a Time
Parashat Naso includes the ritual of sotah. A husband brings his wife whom he suspects of adultery to the mikdash (sanctuary) where a kohen gives her a potion of “cursed waters” that either acquit her or punish her. From our earliest sages to the present moment, many nuanced interpretations of this anomalous and troubling ritual have emerged. We will focus on one Rabbinic principle that applies to the procedure of sotah, but has much wider implications for other rituals, and paves the way towards a theology of mitzvot embedded in honoring the dignity of each individual.
Jun 7, 2022 · 48 min
R. Tali Adler: Words That Cannot Be Written
It's easy to emphasize the giving of the written Torah at Mt. Sinai. But what if the focus should be on Oral Torah? R. Tali Adler looks at the essential role oral Torah plays as a part of the covenant between God and the Jewish people.
Jun 1, 2022 · 9 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Bemidbar: Dismantling Holiness with Love
As Israel traveled through the desert, they frequently erected the mishkan (tabernacle) anew. This means that they also deconstructed the mishkan frequently, dismantling what had been sacred. When we are so aware of the logistics involved in creating spaces to facilitate a sublime experience, it can become demystifying, for better and for worse. In Parashat Bemidbar, we get a behind the scenes view of the logistics of holiness, and a profound message about how to balance the mystique of kedushah alongside the very mundane—and relentless—work to sustain it.
May 25, 2022 · 8 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat BeHukotai: From Curse to Catalyst
The curses of BeHukotai resonate, and we can point to various societal failures that have contributed to this reality, reasons for God to be “angry” at us. Perhaps there is some efficacy in the fear and guilt that undergird the curses as we reach for a sense of control and agency. But severe problems are hardly so simple. As we face what is not a nightmarish curse but a harsh reality of uncertainty about sustainability and abundance, the punishment and guilt model might not serve us well. We have to stare these problems in the face, together, and find pathways forward.
May 23, 2022 · 1 hr
Dena Weiss: Making Shabbat Your Own
What does it mean to have respect for Shabbat? Dena Weiss discusses how we can respect shabbat by making the day feel different through our clothing choices.
May 18, 2022 · 10 min
R. Aviva Richman on Parashat Behar: Shemittah - A Restrained and Wild Love
Shemittah (the sabbatical year) is considered one of the hardest mitzvot. But the mitzvah might not only be about inculcating discipline to the extreme. We can also understand Shemittah and Yovel (jubilee) as mitzvot meant to inculcate an extreme love.
May 16, 2022 · 48 min
R. Shai Held and Shira Hecht-Koller: The World as a Gift
Rabbi Shai Held and Shira Hecht-Koller take a deep dive into Psalm 104. Rabbi Shai Held explores the psalm line by line while Shira Hecht-Koller considers the perspective of a psalmist and what would inspire them to compose this type of poem.