JTS Torah Commentary

Jewish Bible Translations: Personalities, Passions, Politics, Progress

Jun 9, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Author Leonard J. Greenspoon discussed his book, Jewish Bible Translations: Personalities, Passions, Politics, Progress, in which he highlights distinctive features of Jewish Bible translations and offers new insights regarding their shared characteristics and their limitations.

“If I forget Thee, O Jerusalem”: The Idea of the Retun to Zion in Jewish History

Jun 7, 2021 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz explores the implications of living in a state of longing, how Jews attempted to reconcile the dream of return with the reality of Jewish exile, and how this dream was adapted and transformed with the emergence of modern Zionism and a thriving Jewish diaspora.

These are the Developments of the Human

May 26, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Ethan Daniel Davidson discussed his book, These are the Developments of the Human, a compilation of wisdom and insights that he captured over years of various study partnerships of Jewish text with rabbis and other learners from across the world.

Crushing the Red Flowers

May 13, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Author Jennifer Voigt Kaplan discussed her book, Crushing the Red Flowers, which tells the story of how two ordinary boys cope under the extraordinary circumstances of Kristallnacht.

From the Outside In:
How a History of Marginalization Affects Jewish Responses to Marginal Populations Today

May 10, 2021 By Daniel Nevins | Public Event video | Video Lecture

In the book of Numbers, the gentile prophet Balaam says that the people Israel are “a nation that dwells apart.” This has been both a blessing and a curse. How has the experience of marginalization defined Jewish identity? Join Rabbi Daniel Nevins to look at classical Jewish texts and then consider their implications for the role of Judaism in addressing marginalization in contemporary contexts.

Entering Our Mother’s House:
The Book of Ruth as a Model for Welcoming the Other

May 3, 2021 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Public Event video | Video Lecture

The book of Ruth tells the story of a Moabite woman who marries an Israelite man and ensures the future of the house of Israel. Join Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky to examine how this remarkable book understands the formation of identity and how it offers a model of inclusion that remains relevant and essential today.   

“It is the music that makes us the Abayudaya:” The Cantors Assembly in Uganda

Apr 29, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

In winter 2019, members and affiliates of the Cantors Assembly traveled to Uganda on a mission of solidarity, learning, and peoplehood with the Abayudaya Jewish community. Trip participants Dr. Amanda Ruppenthal Stein and Hazzan Jeremy Stein discuss the experiences by the CA mission’s participants. Part of Musical Journeys with The Library of JTS.

Like It—Or Not? The Existential Tension of Similarity and Difference

Apr 26, 2021 By Jan Uhrbach | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Foundational Jewish texts point to a series of irresolvable dilemmas or polarities at the heart of the human condition, among them the way in which each of us is both like, and unlike, all others. How does this fundamental tension manifest in our personal relationships, our collective challenges, and our religious expressions, and what wisdom does our tradition offer to help us manage, and even grow from, our differences?

The Jewish Music of Leonard Bernstein

Apr 22, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Hazzan David F. Tilman examines the works of Leonard Bernstein using a rich variety of musical recordings and archival photographs.

Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Apr 20, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

In Dangerous Religious Ideas, Rabbi Mikva argues all religious ideas are dangerous—not only those we might consider extremist, but even those that stand at the heart of faith. Because most religious traditions have always understood this peril, they have transmitted tools of self-critique as essential to their teachings.

Nonhuman Others: The Jerusalem Talmud on Animal Ethics

Apr 19, 2021

When we think of others, we often think of human others—those different from ourselves. Yet we live in a world populated by a multitude of other animals that we interact with in a variety of roles such as companions, laborers, helpers, and food.

What does the Jewish tradition tell us about how we ought to treat and behave toward these animals that fill our world? Through a close reading of a narrative in the Jerusalem Talmud, we will uncover how one may use animals as workers, or for the sake of human needs, while also treating them as subjects, noticing and caring for their sufferings. This, according to the Talmud, is the ideal ethical stance for how to behave towards nonhumans. 

Cantors, Controversy, & Compassion: Searching for God in Musical Complexity

Apr 15, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

What are the spiritual possibilities of music? Five-hundred years ago, rabbis, cantors and Jewish musicians began to explore this question in dramatic new ways. Extended niggunim, orchestras to welcome the Sabbath bride, meshorerim (musical assistants to the cantor), new Hebrew treatises on music, and the borrowing of European musical technique and style contributed to this experimental climate in the synagogues of early modern Europe. But these changes also incited concern and anger from traditionalists, who worried that musical complexity would compromise the halachic and spiritual integrity of authentic prayer.

JTS Changemakers: What’s Next for Jewish Life?

Apr 15, 2021 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

A year of pandemic has upended almost every aspect of Jewish life. But it has also opened our eyes to new ways of learning, praying, gathering, and celebrating. JTS’s Rabbi Danny Nevins asks four JTS alumni, each a leading Jewish thinker and innovator: what comes next for Jewish life? How can the lessons of Covid strengthen the way we build community going forward?

Learning Torah from the Talmud’s Greatest Gentiles

Apr 12, 2021 By Rachel Rosenthal | Public Event video | Video Lecture

The Talmud, in Sanhedrin, says that it is forbidden for non-Jews to learn Torah. However, throughout rabbinic literature, the rabbis frequently imagine themselves engaging in dialogue about religious issues with non-Jews, be they kings or merchants. Why do the rabbis use these gentiles as repositories of Jewish wisdom and questions, and what might that tell us about how they understand their relationship to the larger world?

Playing for Our Lives: Terezin as a Composer’s Inspiration

Apr 8, 2021 By Gerald Cohen | Public Event video

Cantor Gerald Cohen, composer and assistant professor in the H. L. Miller Cantorial School, will speaks about his composition, Playing for Our Lives, written as a tribute to the music and musicians of the Terezin, perform the composition.

All the Horrors of War

Apr 6, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

All the Horrors of War follows Hugh Llewelyn Glyn Hughes, a high-ranking British officer, and Rachel Genuth, a Jewish teenager from the Hungarian provinces, as they navigate the final, brutal year of World War II. Their stories converge before the war’s end, in Bergen-Belsen, where Hughes finds himself responsible for an unprecedented situation: thousands of war-ravaged inmates are in need of immediate hospitalization, including Genuth.

Looking Back at Jews and the Civil Rights Movement

Apr 5, 2021

The story of how Jews were key allies to African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement is well known. But when historical narratives become conventional wisdom, it can lead to stagnation. Now, many are asking when it comes to Black-Jewish relations, where do we go from here? In this session, led by Dr. Jason Schulman, we will look back at the story of Jews and the Civil Rights Movement to explore some new directions for the study of the field and new bases for honest dialogue.

Freedom for Whom?

Mar 22, 2021 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Public Event video | Video Lecture

First and foremost, the traditional Haggadah celebrates our liberation from Egypt. At the same time, it reflects our experience of oppression over the course of many centuries. It is therefore a plea to be redeemed anew that reflects and potentially re-enforces an adversarial relationship with the non-Jewish world. In our own time the Jews of the United States and Israel enjoy unprecedented freedom. How do we honor the voice of tradition while also including the modern voices seeking liberation for all?

The Future of the Seminary in a Dogmatic Age

Mar 18, 2021 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Public Event video

A conversation between Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz and NYU President Emeritus John Sexton. Moderated by Krista Tippett.

Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder in Medieval Europe

Mar 17, 2021 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

Author and professor Paola Tartakoff of Rutgers University discusses her new book, Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder in Medieval Europe, which explores the “Norwich Circumcision Case” from multiple perspectives.