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Expanding the Conversation: Raquel Ukeles

By Expanding the Conversation | Podcast or Radio Program

What role can a library play in a time of national crisis?

In this episode of Expanding the Conversation, Dr. Raquel Ukeles, Director of Collections at the National Library of Israel, reflects on how cultural institutions like the library serve as spaces of dialogue, connection, and resilience. Drawing on her experience overseeing one of the most important repositories of Jewish, Israeli, and Middle Eastern culture, Dr. Ukeles shares how the National Library has responded to war, social fragmentation, and political tension—not by retreating from controversy, but by doubling down on its mission to collect, curate, and make accessible the voices of all communities.

Expanding the Conversation: Rakefet Ginsberg

By Expanding the Conversation | Podcast or Radio Program

What does Jewish pluralism actually look like in Israel today?

In this episode of Expanding the Conversation, Rakefet Ginsberg, Executive Director of the Masorti Movement in Israel, reflects on how Israelis are redefining religious identity and reclaiming spiritual space—from the egalitarian Kotel to public Yom Kippur services in Tel Aviv. Drawing on her work at the grassroots level, she offers stories of coexistence, struggle, and hope, and makes a compelling case for expanding access to Judaism that is both meaningful and inclusive.

Expanding the Conversation: Seth Farber

By Expanding the Conversation | Podcast or Radio Program

In this episode of Expanding the Conversation, Rabbi Seth Farber, founder and director of Itim, reflects on the intersection of religious authority, individual identity, and democratic values. Drawing from biblical narratives, courtroom battles, and grassroots activism, Rabbi Farber explores how Israel’s religious bureaucracy impacts the lives of citizens at every major life cycle moment—marriage, burial, conversion—and what it will take to create a Jewish state that welcomes all Jews.

Expanding the Conversation: Nasreen Haddad Haj-Yahya

By Expanding the Conversation | Podcast or Radio Program

What does it mean to live fully in two worlds—and feel at home in neither?

In this episode of Expanding the Conversation, Dr. Nasreen Haddad Haj-Yahya, one of Israel’s leading experts on Arab society and state policy, shares a deeply personal and analytical perspective on the experience of Palestinian citizens of Israel. Drawing from her research and lived experience, she explores how government policy, economic marginalization, and social separation shape everyday life for Arab Israelis—and what it means to seek belonging, dignity, and equality in a divided society.

This conversation, recorded after her appearance at the JTS convening Israel at a Crossroads, offers a rare and nuanced window into the complexities of identity, the enduring impact of the Nation-State Law, and the fragile promise of a shared future.

Expanding the Conversation: Roy Peled

By Expanding the Conversation | Podcast or Radio Program

In this episode, Dr. Roy Peled—legal scholar and former youth activist—reflects on the legal and political forces shaping Israel’s identity. Speaking at the Israel at a Crossroads convening, Speaking at the Israel at a Crossroads convening, Peled traces the unfinished story of Israel’s constitution and the impact of Basic Laws on minority rights—especially the Arab minority. With clarity and nuance, he unpacks the political forces behind the Nation-State Law, the shifting role of the judiciary, and the tensions between national identity and democratic principles.

Expanding the Conversation: Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib

By Expanding the Conversation | Podcast or Radio Program

In this powerful episode, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib—a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a Palestinian American raised in Gaza—shares his story of survival, loss, and conviction. Speaking at the Israel at a Crossroads convening, Ahmed explores the personal and collective traumas that shape Palestinian life today, including the devastating impact of the current war on his own family.

Sacred Words: Revealing the Earliest Hebrew Book

By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

Sacred Words: Revealing the Earliest Hebrew Book March 19–July 24 After 1,300 years of untold travels along the Silk Road, the oldest Hebrew book reveals its remarkable story. In Sacred Words, guests will behold the oldest-known Hebrew book, containing Sabbath-morning prayers, liturgical poems, and the world’s oldest Haggadah, which was mysteriously written upside down. Learn about […]

Standing Together: Prayer, Presence, and the Power of Community

The High Holidays invite us into a season of profound reflection—not only on who we are as individuals, but on how we show up for one another and the world. This three-part webinar series explores the emotional and spiritual heart of this sacred time, focusing on the themes of vulnerability, responsibility, and connection.

You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change

What does revolution look like in Jewish life—spiritual, social, technological, or political? This fall, join JTS scholars for a provocative webinar series exploring transformative moments across Jewish history. From the emergence of monotheism to the Russian Revolution, from handwritten manuscripts to digital frontiers, from summer camps to the Talmud, we’ll consider how Jews have sparked, resisted, and reimagined change. Each session invites reflection on what revolution means—then and now.

Senior Sermons: Class of 2026

Presentations by senior Rabbinical School students in 5786 Find the written text for the senior sermons on Exploring Judaism Sarah Rockford – Bereshit Noa Rubin – Noah Sara Birnbaum – Lekh Lekha Zachary Bernstein-Rothberg – Vayera Rachel Cohn – Hayyei Sarah Jacob Lipkin – Toledot Micah Cowan – Vayishlah

Between the Lines: Lost Synagogues of Europe

Part of Between the Lines: Author Conversations from The Library of JTS Lost Synagogues of Europe recreates in vivid color paintings and chronicles the life stories of nearly eighty majestic—and destroyed—European synagogues, each one a testament to the approximately 17,000 synagogues decimated during the Third Reich and early takeover of the Communist regimes. After WWII only about […]

Jacob Lipkin – Senior Sermon (RS ’26)

Toledot All Class of 2026 Senior Sermons

The John Leopold and Martha Dellheim Senior Recital (December 2025)

Graduating Cantorial School senior Marc Szechter headlined an exciting evening of music and spirit. The recital featured a wide range of Jewish music, along with choral works and both existing and newly premiered compositions by Marc and Cantor Gerald Cohen. Marc was accompanied by pianist Joyce Rosenzweig, JTS adjunct instructor, and the combined choir of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music.