The Haggadah
The order of the Seder is codified in the Haggadah. The text evolved over millennia, and varied regionally. The JTS Library has many illuminated and rare haggadot, including this manuscript which was found in the Cairo Geniza, marking the Seder rituals of the Jews of Palestine–note there are only two questions as opposed to four. […]
Read MoreCapstone Project
Part of the JTS Certificate in Biblical Hebrew After completing the four-course sequence, participants are encouraged to apply their biblical grammar knowledge and skills to a section of Tanakh and develop an original translation. There is no cost to complete this optional project. Planning Your Capstone Return to Biblical Hebrew at JTS
Read MoreNusah
Festival Nusah (Male Voice) Recordings by Rabbi and Hazzan Seth AdelsonProject coordinator: Rabbi David Freidenreich Festival Ma’ariv Festival Shaharit Festival Musaf Festival Nusah (Female Voice) Recordings by Cantor Arianne BrownProject coordinator: Rabbi David Freidenreich Festival Ma’ariv Festival Shaharit Festival Musaf
Read MoreLiturgical Resources
The primary observance connected with Purim is the reading of the Book of Esther, usually called the megilla (Scroll). Before the reading, the scroll is unrolled and folded to look like a letter of dispatch, thus further recalling the story of the great deliverance (Maimonides, Hil. Megillah 2:12). Klein, Isaac.”The Laws of Purim.” A Guide to […]
Read MorePsalm 19
Translation by Dr. Benjamin D. Sommer, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, JTS. Find more on Dr. Sommer’s thoughts on this psalm which is recited on Shavuot here. The skies recount God’s splendor the expanse above proclaims His handiwork. One day utters a word to the next, one night conveys […]
Read MoreCounting the Omer
Starting with the evening of the Second Seder, we count the days between Pesah and Shavuot. These fifty days can be an opportunity for personal reflection and revelation. Text Counting the Moments (Shuly Rubin Schwartz): “The celebration of Shavuot was embedded in temporal ambiguity. Jews could strive for the moment when they would commemorate receiving […]
Read MoreTime Capsule
By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Collected Resources | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur
This page explores historical events through the lens of the JTS Torah commentaries that reflect a particular event or time. Starting in the 17th Century, sermons started reflecting not just concerns to the Jewish world, but those of the broader society in which Jews lived.[1] In looking back at the ways in which Jewish thought leaders engaged issues around 9/11, immigration, or COVID-19, consider how we continue to feel the impacts of these events and issues today and how our thinking has shifted.
Read MoreWhose Law? Christians and Jews Rethink the Pharisees
Throughout the centuries, in Christian writings and homilies, the Pharisees have been called legalistic, money-loving, self-righteous hypocrites. That definition has become a label applied to Jews in general as well as any persons or groups the speaker or writer despised. For Jews, however, the Pharisees are respected teachers of the past who are in some way the predecessors of all forms of modern Judaism.
Who were the Pharisees, really? And why does this question matter today?
The Rothschild Mahzor
This image comes from a beautifully illuminated manuscript created in Italy in 1490. It illustrates the first mishnah in Pirkei Avot and appears under the words which translate as Moses Received. “Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets […]
Read MoreMusic of the Season
By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Collected Resources | Hanukkah
Enjoy these ruminations and musical meditations from JTS faculty and students.
Read MoreSong of Songs: Cantillation and Commentary
Cantillation for Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and Ruth Texts “I Will Go to the Mountain of Myrrh” (Barbara Mann): An illustration and illumination of the Song of Songs A Scroll of the Song of Songs (The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary): Highlighting a scroll created by the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in […]
Read MoreRemembering Amalek
Remember what Amalek did to you by the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; how he met you by the way, and struck at your rear, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has […]
Read MoreSensory Shavuot
On Shavuot, we read that the Torah was given with thunder, lightning, smoke, shaking ground, and a shofar blast. How do we continue to experience the Torah with all our senses? Text The Freshest Grain (Ofra Backenroth): Sharing the experience of Shavuot on a kibbutz Video Touch: Beyond the Mountain’s Edgewith Jan UhrbachSources Taste: Sweet […]
Read MoreHigh Holiday Rare Materials
By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary
Audio Collection The JTS Library has an extensive collection of audio recordings from individuals and communities that reflect the sounds of the High Holiday season. These examples illustrate the breadth of the collection: Cochin (India) Rosh Hashana Musaf (Recorded 1967) Nusah from the Firenze (Florence) Jewish Community (Recorded 1967) Selihot from Salonika (Recorded September 21, […]
Read MoreTorah & Haftarah
By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Hanukkah
First Day of Hanukkah (Numbers 6:22 – 8:4) Haftarah First Shabbat (Zechariah 2:14 – 4:7) Haftarah Second Shabbat (I Kings 7:40 – 50) EXPLORE MORE HANUKKAH CONTENT
Read MoreEvolution of Torah: Establishing Rabbinic Culture
By Marcus Mordecai Schwartz
In season two, we travel to four regions of the Medieval world to understand the specific Torah cultures that emerged from each place and their approach to Torah learning guided by Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz. SUBSCRIBE NOW → OPEN IN APPLE PODCASTS → RSS → Credits: Hosted by: Rabbi Mordecai Marcus SchwartzProduced by Ellie GettingerEdited by […]
Read MoreJTS Cantorial Convocation, February, 2022
Program FEBRUARY 2, 2022, 3:30 P.M. ET | 1 ADAR I 5782 VIRTUAL PROCESSION WELCOME Alan Levine, Esq., Chair, JTS Board of Trustees GREETINGS Hazzan Luis Cattan, President, Cantors Assembly D’VAR TORAH Hazzan Nancy Abramson, Director, H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music, JTS MUSICAL PERFORMANCE Shehecheyanu, composed by Hazzan Gerald CohenPerformed […]
Read MoreFrom Slavery to Freedom
Texts Freedom Through Torah (David Hoffman): Highlighting the connection to Shavuot and freedom through the giving of the Torah A Noble Freedom (Tim Bernard): Freedom is something to aspire to We were Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt (Matthew Berkowitz, with Image): An image from the Lovell Haggadah shows the connection between slavery and freedom Pesah: […]
Read MoreYa Notein Binah
YAH NOTEIN BINAH WORDS Israel Najara (ca. 1555 – 1625 | Spain)MUSICTraditional UzbekMelody Adapted byMargo Hughes-Robinson (’21 RS, KGS)Siddur Lev Shalem (p. 123) “HUMAN BEINGS . . . CAN PLANT SEEDS WITH SONGS . . . TAKE INSTRUCTION, SING TO GOD.”Born in Damascus, the Kabbalist and prolific paytan Israel Najara adapted the themes andrhythms of […]
Read MoreReflections on Ruth
The Book of Ruth provides a model for relationships–from family to strangers–kindness and compassion are at the forefront of the interpersonal connections. Below find images related to Ruth from JTS Special Collections. Text Ruth’s Torah Matters Now (Amy Kalmanofsky): The centrality of human relationships in Torah Lessons from the Book of Ruth (Ismar Schorsch): “To […]
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