JTS Torah Commentary

JTS 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 […]

Passover Learning

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

Relating 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. 

Preparing for Pesah

Preparing for Pesach can feel like a marathon leading to the Seders. As former JTS Chancellor Ismar Schorsch writes, “It took God but six days to create the world; it took my mother at least twice that long to prepare for Passover.” These resources offer ways to help with this preparation, both in terms of […]

Telling the Story

The central portion of the Haggadah is Maggid, where the story of the Exodus is presented, providing the broad scope of the story–from wanderings to slavery to freedom. Texts The Telling (David Hoffman): Finding personal context in the maggid verses from Deuteronomy The Meaning of Pesah (Matthew Berkowitz): The importance of compassion in the haggadah […]

Finding the Four Children

Texts The “Four Children” and Their Parent (Gordon Tucker): Reimagining the “four children” as one child in dialogue with a parent The Four Sons from the Prato Haggadah Intent of a Question (Eliezer Diamond): Understanding the evil child’s question The Right to Question (Ismar Schorsch): Amplifying the importance of engaging children in the Jewish story […]

In Every Generation

In every generation, one must see oneself as if one had personally experienced the Exodus from Egypt. These resources show connections across time and place, highlighting the eternal nature of the struggle for redemption. Seder Supplement JTS Seder Supplement for the COVID-19 Pandemic: JTS Faculty and Staff created this guide to enhance the Seder experience at […]

Seder Symbols

Pesah, matzah, and maror provide important experiential connections to the feeling of being enslaved and free. Texts Matzah’s Majestic Meaning (Judith Hauptman): Both the bread of affliction and redemption Pesah Three Ways (Matthew Berkowitz): Exploring the multiple meanings of the Pesah sacrifice Videos The Bitter Truthwith Dr. David KraemerConsider having a Maror tasting at your […]

Torah Commentary

Shemot Va’era Bo Beshallah

Nusah

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

Song 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 […]

From 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: […]

Plagues & Miracles

Texts Shevi’i Shel Pesah: Living at the Frontier (Lauren Henderson): Understanding the crossing of the Sea of Reeds God of Wrath? (Daniel Nevins): Pharaoh’s awe at the plague of hail Redeeming the Plagues (Miriam Liebman): Empathy for the suffering of our enemies Videos Freedom and Responsibilitywith Dr. Rachel Rosenthal

The Future of Catholic-Jewish Relations

Catholic-Jewish dialogue has flourished since the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council’s 1965 Decree on non-Christian religions, Nostra Aetate. His Eminence Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the first African American cardinal in the Catholic Church, discusses the history of that dialogue and to explore how current discussions might guide Catholic-Jewish relations in the future.

Shavuot Learning

EXPLORE THESE SOURCES FROM SCHOLARS AND STUDENTS AT THEJEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY TO ENRICH YOUR SHAVUOT EXPERIENCE. These nine images are part of one illumination that depicts Moses receiving the law. It comes from a 15th Century Manuscript, The Rothschild Mahzor, which is part of JTS Special Collections. You can learn more here about the image […]

Trope & Nusah

Trope Recordings by Cantor Sarah Levine (CS ’17). For the Book of Ruth Festival Nusah (Lower Voice) Recordings by Rabbi and Hazzan Seth AdelsonProject coordinator: Rabbi David Freidenreich Festival Ma’ariv Festival Shaharit Festival Musaf Festival Nusah (Higher Voice) Recordings by Cantor Arianne BrownProject coordinator: Rabbi David Freidenreich Festival Ma’ariv Festival Shaharit Festival Musaf

Counting 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 […]

Sensory 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 […]

Reflections 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 […]

Gleanings

“Ruth came and gleaned in a field, behind the reapers, and as luck would have it, it was the piece of land belonging to Boaz, who was of Elimelech’s [Naomi’s late husband’s] family” (Ruth 2:3). Text Leftover Scraps (Julia Andelman): Using Millet’s painting, The Gleaners, to highlight the mitzvah of leaving the corners of fields and […]