JTS Torah Commentary

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.  

Micah Cowan – Senior Sermon (’26)

By JTS Senior Sermon | Commentary | Senior Sermon | Vayishlah

Vayishlah

Seasons of Responsibility: Interreligious Conversations on Environmental Justice and Repair

Winter-Spring 2026 Learning Series Across Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Hindu traditions, the early spring season is a shared period of reflection, renewal, and ethical clarity. While rooted in different stories and practices—from Tu BiShvat to Lent and Easter, from Ramadan to Holi and Passover—these holidays collectively invite communities to consider how human choices shape the […]

Jewish Worlds Illuminated: A Treasury of Hebrew Manuscripts from The JTS Library

By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

Jewish Worlds Illuminated: A Treasury of Hebrew Manuscripts from The JTS Library September 17–December 27, 2025Grolier Club 47 E 60th St. New York, NY 10022 Jewish Worlds Illuminated features over 100 manuscripts and books offering a world tour of Jewish literary creativity across many centuries and thousands of miles. The exhibition explores the diversity of cultures […]

Truth or Fiction?

By MFA in Creative Writing | Public Event video | Video Lecture

The JTS MFA in Creative Writing is built around conversation about hard truths and strange fictions—about writing, teaching, failure, ambition, and why anyone keeps doing this in the first place. This three-part online series invites you into those conversations, with faculty and students speaking honestly about craft, community, and what it really means to commit to the work.

Between the Lines: Children of the Book

By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

In Children of the Book: A Memoir of Reading Together (St. Martin’s Press / On Sale: August 26, 2025), Ilana Kurshan reveals how literature weaves an invisible thread through the tapestry of family life. Kurshan, a mother of five living in Jerusalem, struggles to balance her passion for books with her responsibilities as a parent. Gradually she learns how to relate to reading not as a solitary pursuit and an escape from the messiness of life, but rather as a way of forging connection and teaching independence. Introducing her children to sacred and secular literature—including the beloved classics of her childhood—she becomes both a better mother and a more compassionate reader. 

Indigenous Leadership and Ecological Responsibility 

Download Sources Drawing on the Center for Earth Ethics’ Freedom to Be: Dialogues on Freedom of Religion or Belief for Indigenous Peoples, this session built a foundation for understanding Indigenous identity, spirituality, and relationships to land. Roberto Múkaro Borrero and Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay explored where religious communities have shown up—and where they have not—and invite participants to consider how faith […]