JTS Torah Archive

Pesah Day 2

Jan 1, 1980

¹ At the king’s summons, all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem assembled before him.

Beshallah

Jan 1, 1980

¹⁷ Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

Pekudei

Jan 1, 1980

⁵¹ When all the work that King Solomon had done in the House of the Lord was completed, Solomon brought in the sacred donations of his father David — the silver, the gold, and the vessels — and deposited them in the treasury of the House of the Lord.

Pesah Day 7 & 8

Jan 1, 1980

¹ David addressed the words of this song to the Lord, after the Lord had saved him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hands of Saul.

Lekh Lekha

Jan 1, 1980

²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob,
Why declare, O Israel,
“My way is hid from the Lord,
My cause is ignored by my God”?

Hanukkah

Jan 1, 1980

¹ On the day that Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, as well as the altar and its utensils.

Vayeilekh

Jan 1, 1980

¹ Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel.

Behukkotai

Jan 1, 1980

¹⁹ O Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
My refuge in a day of trouble,
To You nations shall come
From the ends of the earth and say:
Our fathers inherited utter delusions,
Things that are futile and worthless.

Mattot-Masei

Jan 1, 1980

³ If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips.

Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel on Peace

Oct 5, 1972 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Documentary | Short Video

Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel discussed peace in this clip called “Abraham Joshua Heschel Remembered,” and is from the last interview he gave before his death in 1972.

Torah Commentary

Shemot Va’era Bo Beshallah

Yom Kippur Torah Reading

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Collected Resources | Aharei Mot | Yom Kippur

The Yom Kippur Torah portion is taken from Aharei Mot. In the morning service, the reading (Leviticus 16:1-34) describes the priestly duties on Yom Kippur and the ritual of the scapegoat. While the afternoon (18:1-30) describes forbidden relationships and marriages. The Haftarah in the morning is from Isaiah 57:14-58:14 and highlights themes of repentance and fasting. During mincha, the book of Jonah is read.

The Laws of Hanukkah

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Collected Resources | Hanukkah

Celebrating Hanukkah means publicizing the miracle–these JTS sources offer guidance in fulfilling the halakha for this holiday.

Human or Divine?

God is never mentioned in the Megillat Esther. These reflections explore the interplay between the human and the divine in the Purim story and beyond. The Whimsy, Confusion, and Hope of Purim (Chancellor Emeritus Arnold Eisen) Finding God in the Purim story and world events God Helps Those Who Help Themselves (Dr. Raymond Scheindlin): “the main […]

The Dynamics of Change

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Change is an integral part of life and a central feature of the Jewish experience. Join JTS scholars for an in-depth exploration of significant changes—religious, political, and personal—throughout Jewish history and life. Together we’ll consider core questions such as: What inspires change? What circumstances are most conducive to change, and what (or who) drives it? How do we experience change and adapt to its impact? How can Jewish values and ideas inspire us to change the world for the better?   

JTS High Holiday Reader 5784

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Collected Resources | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

JTS provides extensive resources to help you reflect and focus your intentions around Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This year, we are pleased to provide a new printable reader to make your holiday experience more engaging, especially if you plan to spend many hours sitting in synagogue services. This curated collection of commentaries by JTS faculty and staff—entitled Choice and Change—offers insights into the text, liturgy, and themes of the High Holidays.

The Jews of Corfu: Between the Adriatic and the Ionian

By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

This unprecedented exhibition offered a window into the rich history and culture of the little-known Jewish communities of Corfu. Columbia University and JTS, two of the world’s largest repositories of rare materials from Corfu, displayed a selection of illustrated prayer books, historical documents, celebratory poems, and elaborately decorated ketubbot telling the story of the island’s vibrant, distinct, and sometimes contentious Jewish communities. Situated on a major trade route, these communities thrived under Venetian and then Greek rule from the Middle Ages until 1944, when the Jews of Corfu were almost entirely annihilated by the Nazis. 

Passover Learning

Collected Video, Commentary, and more from JTS scholars to broaden the holiday of Pesah

Torah & Haftarah

Torah Readings Shavuot Day 1 Shavuot Day 2 Haftarah Readings Shavuot Day 1 Shavuot Day 2

The John Leopold and Martha Dellheim Senior Recital 2024

Graduating cantorial students, Gedalia Penner-Robinson, Ingrid Barnett, David Childs, Max Silverstone, and Neal Taibel, share their talents and their vision for the 21st-century cantorate. The recitals feature a wide range of Jewish music in Hebrew, Ladino, and Yiddish, as well as hazzanut, and Israeli traditional and pop songs. Choral works, and compositions written and composed by our graduates, will also be performed. The soloists, along with guest artists, are accompanied by pianist Joyce Rosenzweig, JTS adjunct instructor, and the combined Choir of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, conducted by Hazzan Natasha Hirschhorn.