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May 23, 2022 By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Professor Eisen explores recent developments in Jewish thought about God and what God requires of us as Jews and human beings against the background of past Jewish thought, recent work by non-Jewish thinkers, and Professor Eisen’s own theological reflections in the age of COVID.
Read MoreWatering the Soul in Times of Faith and Doubt
May 16, 2022 By Mychal Springer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
together—is central to a life of faith and often plunges people into doubt. We will make space for the “watering of the soul,” both metaphorically and through exploration of the connection between resurrection and water—in the form of rain and dew.
Read MoreDoes Faith Matter? The Ancient Jewish Debate About Faith and Mitzvot
May 9, 2022 By David C. Kraemer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
One often hears it said that “Judaism cares what one does, not what one believes.” But this is a distortion, an oversimplification. When one looks at sources from the period of the birth of Rabbinic Judaism (including early “Christian” writings), one finds that there was an active debate about this matter. In this session, we will begin by considering the arguments of those ancient Jews—Paul and James—who raised the important question of faith vs. mitzvot. We will then examine echoes of the same debate in early rabbinic sources.
Read MoreThe Gender of God in Ancient Israel
May 2, 2022 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
How did the biblical authors, and other Israelites, view the gender of God? Did they perceive God to be male? Did any of them perceive God as female? To answer this question, we examine both several biblical texts as well as archaeological evidence.
Read MoreBecause You Hear the Prayers of Your People Israel in Mercy
Apr 25, 2022 By Rachel Rosenthal | Public Event video | Video Lecture
We often think of God’s choice to respond to our prayers as an act of mercy, but the rabbis in the Babylonian Talmud believed that God was powerless to ignore certain prayers. We look at five models of people whose prayers God answers and consider how they act as messengers on behalf of their communities.
Read MoreRelating to God
By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Join JTS scholars to explore what Jewish texts and thought can teach us about how we might understand, experience, and be in relationship with the divine.
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