JTS Torah Archive

Remembering Alan Mintz (z”l)

Jun 7, 2017 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

A celebration of the life and work of JTS’s Chana Kekst Professor of Jewish Literature Alan Mintz z”l, with remarks from colleagues and dramatic readings from S. Y. Agnon’s Buczacz stories.

Mighty Be Our Powers: Standing Together to Confront Tyranny

May 10, 2017 By Ruth Messinger | Public Event video

Renowned peace activist Leymah Gbowee delivers the annual John Paul II Lecture on Interfaith Understanding. Gbowee won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her work leading a women’s peace movement that brought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War.

The Criminal Justice System: Honoring Tradition, Championing Reform

Apr 4, 2017 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Flaws in the criminal justice system threaten the social fabric of our country. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. shares new approaches to criminal justice reform, including initiatives to promote alternatives to incarceration, address implicit bias, and enhance relations between law enforcement and the communities they serve. He also addresses contemporary public safety issues like human trafficking and cybercrime.

Wondering Jews: Abigail Pogrebin and Joseph Telushkin in Conversation

Mar 27, 2017 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

The Pew Research Center study “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” revealed that most US Jews locate their Jewishness in their ancestry and culture—not in religion. Abigail Pogrebin wondered if perhaps that’s because we haven’t all looked at religious ritual closely enough. Her new book, My Jewish Year, is the result of a deep spiritual and scholarly exploration of every festival and fast, coming at an ancient tradition with fresh eyes.

Global Refugee Crisis: Time for New Thinking

Mar 16, 2017 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

David Milliband, president of the International Rescue Committee and former UK Foreign Secretary, discusses ways to address one of the most pressing political and moral issues of our time. 

Teaching Mahshevet Yisrael: The Universalist / Particularist Issue

Feb 14, 2017

Elie Holzer: “Jews, Non-Jews, and Teaching the Hasidic Homily: Hermeneutic Approaches and Pedagogical Deliberations”

Avinoam Rosenak: “Machshevet Yisrael as an Encounter: Jewish Philosophy or Judaism as a Philosophy—Educational Implications”

The US Health Care System: What Does the Future Hold?

Feb 14, 2017 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 took a giant step toward universal health insurance coverage in the United States. Although it has been quite successful in accomplishing that goal, it has remained highly controversial. The new Administration is intent on repealing the law and replacing it with an alternative model.  

Why is health care reform so challenging? Why does “Obamacare” look as it does? Could alternative plans under consideration achieve the same gains? And what are the political prospects of those alternatives? Prominent health policy expert Dr. Sherry Glied describes the past, present, and possible future of health reform efforts in the US.

Teaching Jews about the “Other” and Teaching the “Other” about Jews

Feb 13, 2017 By Sarah Tauber (z”l) | Public Event video

Sarah Tauber: “A Jewish Professor and Christian Students Meet: Teaching and Learning in an Introduction to Judaism Course at a Christian Seminary”

Michael Gillis: “Teaching About Other Religions in Jewish Education”

Seeing the “Other” in Jewish Canonical Texts

Feb 13, 2017

Adriane Leveen: “Biblical Narratives of Israelites and their Neighbors”

Matt Goldish: “Reading the Gospel through Talmudic Eyes: John Lightfoot’s Revolution”

Jewish Particularism and Universalism

Feb 13, 2017

Marc Silverman: “‘Free Jews’ and Their Views on Jewish Culture and Its Interface with Other Peoples’ Cultures”

Yossi Turner: “Jewish Learning and the Non-Jew: Toward a New Particularist-Universalist Paradigm”

Teaching Jewish History and Teaching Israel: The “Other” is Within “Our” Subject Matters

Feb 13, 2017 By Ofra Arieli Backenroth | Public Event video

Ofra Backenroth and Alex Sinclair: “‘Present Absentees’: On the Place of Non-Jewish Israeli Narratives in Israel Education”

Meredith Katz and Jeffrey Kress: “Middle School Students and ‘The Other’ in an Online Jewish History Simulation Activity”

Thinkers with an Educational Orientation: Exploring the Universal and the Particular

Feb 12, 2017

Ari Ackerman: “Universalism and Jewish Nationalism in the Educational Philosophy of Mordecai Kaplan”

Daniel Marom: “Jewish Educational Roots and Implications of Zamenhof’s Global Esperanto Movement”

The Blessing of Assimilation—Then and Now

Sep 20, 2016 By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video

Current JTS Chancellor Arnold M. Eisen revisits former JTS Chancellor Gerson D. Cohen’s landmark 1966 essay “The Blessing of Assimilation in Jewish History.” Chancellor Eisen discusses how the issues raised by Chancellor Cohen half a century ago continue to engage and challenge us today.

Open Book Open Heart: Siddur Lev Shalem and the Future of Prayer

May 24, 2016 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Lev Shalem editors Rabbis Edward Feld and Jan Uhrbach discuss with Chancellor Arnold M. Eisen the unique spiritual needs and challenges of this generation and how this new prayer book responds.

Religion and Diplomacy

May 9, 2016 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Religion is personal, yet it looms large in international diplomacy, much as it factors into interpersonal relations. This year’s lecture is a high level conversation between two veteran diplomats, Archbishop Bernardito Auza and Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, whose religions are essential to who they are and how they conduct their diplomatic work.

Answering the Call to Holiness Together

May 8, 2016 By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video

A guest sermon at the Riverside Church of New York.

Free Speech vs. Hate Speech: The Changing Contours of Free Expression

Mar 28, 2016 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Frederick M. Lawrence—Yale Law School senior research scholar, past president of Brandeis University, and a leading  expert on civil rights, free expression, and bias crimes—explores the boundaries of free expression in the 2016 Bernard G. Segal Memorial Lecture.

The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Realities and Responses

Feb 2, 2016 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

What are the realities on the ground in Syria and other affected countries? What are our responsibilities as individuals, as a country, and as a Jewish community? How do we fulfill the Jewish moral imperative of dealing compassionately with the stranger even as we ensure domestic security?

Disabilities, Inclusion, and Jewish Education

Dec 9, 2015 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

How does the Jewish community help individuals with a range of disabilities participate meaningfully in Jewish education and Jewish life? A panel of experts discusses key innovations and challenges in the field as they apply to both formal and informal Jewish education, and explores which programs, services, and opportunities are still missing.

No Religion Is an Island

Nov 24, 2015 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

A conversation between UTS President Professor Serene Jones and JTS Chancellor Professor Arnold Eisen, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Abraham Joshua Heschel’s revolutionary address at Union Theological Seminary.