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Forgiveness

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

much more complex challenge of seeking forgiveness from those who we have wronged. It means reflecting on our shortcomings and forgiving ourselves and reaching out to those we have hurt. These resources provide guideposts on going through this difficult process.

High Holiday Webinars

Join JTS in preparing for the High Holiday season with meaningful and enriching sessions led by faculty.

The Esslingen Mahzor

The Esslingen Mahzor was written and decorated by Kalonymos ben Judah, who lived in Mainz in the thirteenth century; it is his only known work and we know little else about him. In the colophon, ben Judah writes that he completed the mahzor on 28 Tevet 5050 (January 12, 1290), making it the earliest dated […]

Rosh Hashanah Liturgy

TEXTS Let the New Year and Its Blessings Begin (Rabbi Ayelet Cohen): Exploring the Sephardic piyyut Ahot Ketana and its placement at the beginning of the Rosh Hashana service Lacking Praise (Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz): Why is Hallel absent from the Rosh Hashanah liturgy The Value of Doubt (Rabbi Julia Andelman): Vekhol Ma’aminim, the conflict between […]

Shabbat Shuvah Torah Reading

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Collected Resources | Ha'azinu | Shabbat Shuvah | Vayeilekh

The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat of Return. The Torah portion can vary depending on the timing of the calendar. Ashkenazi Jews read Hosea 14:2-10 and Joel 2:15-27, while Sephardic Jews read Hosea 14:2-10 and Micah 7:18-20. The first word of Hosea is “Shuvah” (return) and led to the naming of this Shabbat.

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.

Dangerous Ideas: Censorship Through a Jewish Lens

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

Throughout Jewish history, certain texts and ideas have been deemed too dangerous to circulate—whether by outsiders who banned Jewish writings, or Jewish leaders who suppressed ideas considered heretical or beyond the pale. In this series, JTS scholars will examine efforts to control knowledge from ancient to contemporary times, exploring the ways in which censorship both reflects and shapes broader ideological struggles. They will discuss the varying motivations for controlling or revising narratives, and consider whether and under what circumstances it might make sense to suppress certain ideas. These discussions will illuminate past struggles and help us understand the battles over censorship and free expression playing out today.

Whose 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?

Kollot Rabbinic Literature, 2022-23

By Jan Uhrbach

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Senior Sermons: Class of 2023

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Short Video

Presentations by senior Rabbinical School students in 5783 Alex Hamilton – Noah Israel Gordan – Lekh Lekha Aaron Leven – Hayyei Sarah Gavriella Kornsgold – Toledot Andy Weissfeld – Vayetzei Benjy Forester – Vayishlach Amelia Wolf – Vayeshev Adam Gillman – Va’era Stefanie Gedan – Yitro Grace Gleason – Ki Tissa Rishe Groner – Tazria-Metzora