Friendship and Interfaith Engagement

Nov 13, 2023 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

In a world where religious differences have often been a source of division, the concept of friendship emerges as a powerful tool for forging connections, fostering receptiveness to others, and nurturing understanding. Beginning with a discussion of Aristotle’s friendship, followed by several case studies, we investigate how friendship has been actualized and experienced throughout history within the context of interfaith dialogue. We will also consider to what extent an ambivalence about friendship exists in Jewish-Christian relations from the Middle Ages up to the present day.

Who Was Abraham’s Last Wife?

Nov 10, 2023 By Claire Shoyer | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah

Parashat Hayyei Sarah focuses on the devoted relationships between two of our patriarchs and two of our matriarchs. We begin by reading of how Abraham strove to fully acquire the land for Sarah’s burial. We then see that Abraham wanted to find a fitting wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham’s servant brings back Rebecca, and she and Isaac begin a partnership which seems supportive and loving—as soon as Isaac and Rebecca meet, we read that Isaac loves Rebecca and finds comfort in her after his mother’s death (Gen. 24:67). In both accounts, we see that each of these pairs was specifically well-matched. Why, then, does the parshah end by saying, “And again, Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah” (Gen. 25:1)? Who was this additional wife, Keturah, and why do we read about her in the context of the loving relationships of Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebecca? Is Keturah introduced simply to transmit information about Abraham’s geneaology, or does her presence signify something deeper?

Jonathon Adler – Senior Sermon (RS ’24)

Nov 8, 2023 By JTS Senior Sermon | Commentary | Senior Sermon | Short Video | Hayyei Sarah

Parshat Hayyei Sarah All the Class of 2024 Senior Sermons

Between the Lines: Palestine 1936

Nov 7, 2023 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Oren Kessler discusses his book Palestine 1936 which tells the epic story—for the first time in English—of the 1936–1939 Arab Revolt in British Mandate Palestine, the forgotten first “Intifada” that was a seminal event in the birth of Israel and the Middle East conflict, with lasting repercussions.

Be My Galentine? Female Friendship in the Hebrew Bible

Nov 6, 2023 By Yael Landman | Public Event video | Video Lecture

From Lucy and Ethel to Thelma and Louise, female friendships have captivated consumers of modern media. Yet if we look to the Hebrew Bible, examples of female friends seem few and far between. This session explores female friendship in the Hebrew Bible by examining relationships (or lack thereof) between biblical women such as Ruth and Naomi, the anonymous daughter of Jephthah and her friends, and Deborah and Yael.

Hagar’s Tears and Ours: Choosing Connection over Despair

Nov 3, 2023 By Ayelet Cohen | Commentary | Vayera | Rosh Hashanah

Genesis offers us narratives of our biblical ancestors struggling with many of the deepest challenges that we may face in our lives, whether in our familial or interpersonal relationships or as we face the uncertainty, fear, and loss of living in a broken world. Throughout the Genesis cycle we encounter families who accept the fallacy that there is not enough blessing to go around, and thus make terrible mistakes. Parents choose favorite children, siblings are pitted against each other as rivals. This year we return to these stories shattered by the horrific violence of the October 7th massacres, as we see a new and terrifying chapter unfold in the primal conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. We know that there is enough suffering and trauma and outrage to go around. We wonder if there is enough compassion or enough hope to carry us through this time.

Josh Bender – Senior Sermon (RS ’24)

Nov 2, 2023 By JTS Senior Sermon | Senior Sermon | Short Video | Vayera

Josh Bender Senior Sermon on Parshat Vayera

Between the Lines: Religicide

Oct 30, 2023 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Georgette Bennett speaks about her book, Religicide, coauthored with Jerry White, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which documents the global persecutions of people for their faiths, including the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Bosnian war, and other human rights catastrophes. It amplifies the voices of survivors and offers a blueprint for action, calling on government, business, civil society, and religious leaders to join in a global campaign to protect religious minorities.

What Should We Call Our First Foremother?

Oct 27, 2023 By Sass Brown | Commentary | Lekh Lekha

Twice in this week’s parashah our first foremother’s name is disrupted. First, when she is abducted into Pharaoh’s household in Egypt, she seems to lose her name entirely. Then, in the concluding chapter, God changes her name while she is off screen. In both moments of unnaming, Sarai is voiceless. In both, Avraham receives something grand—a gift, a covenant—while Sarai is elsewhere. Given how similar these two events are for Sarai, it feels like they are asking to be compared. On the other hand, one is an interpersonal episode of a woman suffering while her husband thrives, and the other is the initiation of Avraham’s covenant. Can the mistakes Avraham made in Egypt shed light on the holy charge he receives in the conclusion of Parashat Lekh Lekha?

Love in Dark Times: Friendship and Eros in Jewish Theology, Literature, and Ethics

Oct 25, 2023 By JTS Team | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Explore themes of love and friendship in Jewish thought with a panel of preeminent scholars. We will examine the complex and central place of love and longing in modern Hebrew literature, Jewish theology, and ethics, and consider what this rich intellectual tradition can offer for contemporary political lif

Gisele Baler – Senior Sermon (RS ’24)

Oct 25, 2023 By JTS Senior Sermon | Commentary | Senior Sermon | Short Video | Lekh Lekha

Parshat Lekh Lekha All the Class of 2024 Senior Sermons

Between the Lines: Dwell Time

Oct 24, 2023 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

In her memoir, Dwell Time: A Memoir of Art, Exile, and Repair, Rosa Lowinger, a leading sculpture and architectural conservator, interweaves the materials and science of her work with the
story of her Jewish Cuban family and their state of double exile: from Eastern Europe in the 1920s and then Cuba in early 1961.

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition

Oct 23, 2023 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join JTS faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly. We will also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship

A Friendship in the Ghetto, the Forest and Beyond: The Story of Two Yiddish Poets During the Holocaust

Oct 23, 2023 By David Fishman | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Imagine two friends surrounded by German soldiers in the forest, with a single pistol in their possession, and one of them hands the pistol to the other, saying: “Abrasha, you should live, you are the greater poet”. This was the depth of friendship between Yiddish poets Abraham Sutzkever and Shmerke Kaczerginski. They inspired each other to creativity and acts of heroism. We explore their lives together, as fellow inmates of the Vilna ghetto, living in the same room and working in the same slave labor site, and ultimately how their friendship ended in separation after the war.

Across the Atlantic: Lifesaving Friendships during the Holocaust

Oct 23, 2023 By Edna Friedberg | Public Event video | Video Lecture

During the 1930s and 40s, friendship ties could mean the difference between life and death, refuge and danger. In this session we learn about Americans who went to great lengths to help European Jews in need of escape–whether penpals, exchange students, or total strangers.

What Is the Rainbow Really Teaching Us?

Oct 20, 2023 By Tani Schwartz-Herman | Commentary | Noah

In this week’s parashah we learn the origin story of the rainbow as a symbol. Following the catastrophic flood in which God destroys nearly every living thing, save for Noah and his family and the animals he brings with him onto the ark, God promises never to bring about destruction on the same scale again. God establishes the rainbow as a sign for this covenant, declaring that it will be a reminder for God always: “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures . . . ”

Between the Lines: Qohelet

Oct 18, 2023 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Sukkot

In Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, philosopher Menachem Fisch and artist Debra Band together probe the biblical thinker’s inquiry into the value of life “under the sun.”

Caring for Ourselves and Others in This Time of Crisis

Oct 17, 2023 By The Center for Pastoral Education | Public Event video

As we navigate our personal and professional roles during this distressing time, rabbis, cantors, chaplains, educators, and other leaders in helping professions are invited to gather for an online program helping us to reflect on caring for ourselves while caring for others. This session will provide a trauma-informed approach to our work and experience as religious and spiritual leaders.

An Anthology of Beginnings

Oct 13, 2023 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Commentary | Bereishit

The Torah seems to begin twice, in a way not paralleled by any other creation narrative from the ancient Near East. It uses the conventions of ancient literature in a new way. By beginning twice, the Torah announces what sort of a work it intends to be: it is less a book than an anthology, a compendium of numerous viewpoints and competing teachings.

Dancing with Torah

Oct 6, 2023 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Commentary | Simhat Torah

Judaism’s richness comes from having two Torahs—the Written Torah [Torah shebikhtav], which Moses receives from God, and which we will soon celebrate on Simhat Torah,and the Oral Torah [Torah shebe’al peh], the Torah of commentary that extends from the ancient rabbis to today’s rabbis, scholars, and students of Judaism’s sacred texts and traditions.

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