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Read weekly Torah commentaries

Read weekly Torah commentaries

Reflections on the Torah reading cycle

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Holiday Learning and Resources

Holiday Learning and Resources

Commentaries and more on the themes, texts, and liturgy of the holidays.

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Join online classes

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Listen to JTS podcasts

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Nusah & Cantillation

Nusah & Cantillation

The tunes for Shabbat, festival, and high holiday services and Torah readings

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Featured

Israel at a Crossroads – Expanding the Conversation

Israel at a Crossroads – Expanding the Conversation

Apr 28, 2025

This series builds on the discussions from JTS’s Israel at the Crossroads convening, bringing JTS alumni into conversation about the evolving challenges of Israeli identity, culture, and collective resilience. Through explorations of art, spirituality, and national memory, we will consider how Israeli society navigates questions of belonging, pluralism, and meaning in this complex moment. By engaging voices from across disciplines, Expanding the Conversation seeks to illuminate the ways individuals and communities are shaping Israel’s cultural and spiritual landscape today.

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The Bones We Carry

The Bones We Carry

Apr 18, 2025 By Abigail Uhrman | Commentary | Pesah

Consider the scene: after over 200 years of slavery, the Israelites, at long last, are preparing to depart. They are frantically gathering their belongings—gold, silver, all their earthly possessions—and scrambling to prepare food for their journey. In this urgent rush, Moses, rather than attending to the needs of the people and their immediate concerns, embarks on a singular mission: to retrieve the bones of Joseph, fulfilling a centuries-old promise. It begs the question: Why, in the midst of these epic events, does the Torah highlight this seemingly minor detail? What is the significance of Moses’s dedication to this task, his resolute commitment to honoring a promise made generations ago?

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Can We Sanctify Incivility?

Can We Sanctify Incivility?

Apr 11, 2025 By Gordon Tucker | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Tzav

Parashat Tzav opens with instructions for the olah, the offering (primarily the twice-daily sacrifice) that is entirely burnt on the altar. The ninth chapter of the talmudic tractate Zevahim, notes that the word olah, which means “ascending,” can be understood both as denoting an ascent to heaven from earth, and equally, an ascent up the ramp of the altar to the place from which it is offered. The double meaning gave rise to a principle that is articulated in the opening mishnah of that ninth chapter. But some background is necessary before citing that principle.

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Who is Liable?

Who is Liable?

Apr 4, 2025 By Alan Cooper | Commentary | Vayikra

The opening parashah of Leviticus comprises regulations for the performance of sacrifices. Of these, the most complicated are the hattat and the asham offerings, discussed in chapters 4 and 5. As James Watts observes in the best English-language commentary to appear since Milgrom’s,[1] these chapters have been “the subject of an especially contentious history of interpretation.” The reason is the ambiguity of the biblical text, with its conjoining of “sin” and “guilt,” and the absence of a clear distinction between actual (objective) guilt and (subjective) guilty feelings.

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JTS MFA in Writing: The Power of Storytelling 

JTS MFA in Writing: The Power of Storytelling 

Mar 31, 2025

Acclaimed Israeli author Etgar Keret, the director of the JTS MFA in Writing, shared his passion for storytelling in this session of our series, “What’s Next: New Ways of Engaging with Jewish Text” He spoke with Lisa Springer, Dean of the Division of Lifelong and Professional Studies (DLPS) and Associate Provost for Continuing and Digital Learning.

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