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Back to JTS Torah Online's Main pageUshpizin
Oct 2, 2015 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Commentary | Sukkot
Ushpizin, (literally, “guests”) is the tradition of inviting the exalted men and women of the Bible into our sukkot. Each year, since 5772, professional and novice artists including JTS students, faculty, and staff have taken the concept of ushpizin as the centerpiece and inspiration for an art installation in the famed sukkot built each year in the JTS courtyard. Part of the JTS Arts Initiative, the sukkot exhibit is managed under the guidance of Tobi Kahn, JTS artist-in-residence.
Read MoreTimothy Cardinal Dolan: 50 Years of Nostra Aetate
May 7, 2015 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
His Eminence Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan celebrates Jewish-Catholic relations on the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate.
Read MoreStill Life with Siddur: Blessings and Challenges in Jewish Communal Prayer
Mar 2, 2015 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event audio
What is the role of communal prayer in a culture that values individual expression and customized experience? Two leading voices in Jewish prayer explore the rationale, advantages and challenges of praying together.
Read MoreThe Song at the Sea
Jan 20, 2015 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Commentary | Beshallah
The centerpiece of Parashat Beshallah is the Song at the Sea. The song gives this Shabbat on which it is read the name Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath of Song. It is interesting to note that this is the first recorded instance in the Torah where praise of God is specifically sung rather than spoken. Dr. Joseph H. Hertz, the first graduate of JTS and the chief rabbi of the British Empire, wrote in his Torah commentary on Parashat Beshallah, “Whenever Israel has faith in God and in the Divine Mission of Moses, Israel sings” (The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, p. 270).
Read MoreAl Hanissim
Dec 10, 2014 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Prayer Recordings | Hanukkah
In preparation for Hanukkah, we are excited to share a recording of Al Hanissim, composed by Mike Boxer of the Jewish a cappella group Six13 and performed by the Chorus of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music.
Read MoreHanukkah Reignited! 1 Wondering Jew, Lab/Shul, and Friends Light Up JTS
Dec 2, 2014 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Hanukkah
A panel discussion with Jewish Daily Forward columnist Abigail Pogrebin and Lab/Shul founder Amichai Lau-Lavie (RS ’16) cohost this panel featuring Bruce Feiler, Rabba Sara Hurwitz, Rabbi David Ingber, Rabbi Jill Hammer, and Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, and a performance with students from JTS’s cantorial school, cantors and song leaders of New York City congregations, and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary.
Read MoreSharing the Well: A Resource Guide for Jewish-Muslim Engagement
Nov 18, 2014 By The Jewish Theological Seminary
Sharing the Well: A Resource Guide for Jewish Muslim Engagement is designed to assist and enhance Jewish-Muslim interactions at the community level.
Read MoreThe Future of Judaism and Islam on American Campuses
Feb 18, 2014 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
Judaism and Islam have quite a bit in common, so how can these two religions learn from each other, especially in the collegiate setting? This topic is discussed in this Annual John Paul II Center Lecture, including panelists Imam Abdullah Antepli of Duke University, Rabbi Gail Swedroe of the University of Florida Hillel, and Professor Mehnaz Afridi of Manhattan College, and moderated by Huffington Post Executive Religion Editor Rev. Paul Raushenbush.
Read MoreIsrael’s Safety, Israel’s Soul: Hopes and Fears in Contemporary Israel
Nov 21, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
Yossi Klein Halevi and David Senesh have two very different views on Israeli society. Should Israeli society be more concerned about the price of being too weak or too strong? What are the responsibilities of a country under existential threat in terms of both morality and security? These questions are discussed in this provocative, illuminating, and critically important discussion moderated by Rabbi Julia Andelman.
Read MoreChancellor Eisen Discusses the Legacy of Rabbi David Hartman
Nov 4, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
A discussion from “A Day of Study Celebrating the Impact of Rabbi Professor David Hartman,” held in New York City on May 5, 2013, featuring David Hartman’s onetime student and friend, Arnold Eisen, Chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary, in conversation with Donniel Hartman (President, Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem). The program was recorded by Shalom TV.
Read MoreCantillation for Torah
Oct 22, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Prayer Recordings
Recordings by Cantor Sarah Levine (CS ’17).
Read MoreThe Song of Berditchev
Aug 5, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Podcast or Radio Program
What happens when a rabbi refuses to continue Yom Kippur services? Find out in this archival recording of The Eternal Light radio program from 1953.
Read MoreLiving in Uncertain Times: Responses to Crisis in the Bible and in Our Own Lives
Jul 24, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
Whether dealing with personal crisis or collective catastrophe, recovering from emotional and physical hurt is difficult. How do people in the Bible respond to disaster and suffering? And how, from an emotinal and psychological perspective, can these models guide us in coping with and recovering from trauma?
Read MoreAging in America: Second Career/Post Career
Jun 25, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
As more baby boomers approach traditional retirement age, a seismic shift is taking place in our culture. The change is manifest in the graying of the workforce and in the current political debates on the future of Social Security and Medicare.
Read MoreYours? Mine? Ours? Economies for a Sustainable Earth
Apr 25, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
A panel discussion sponsored by the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies of JTS.
Read MoreHeschel and Kaplan: Cross Sections and Intersections
Apr 18, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
Dr. Susannah Heschel, as the devoted student of her father’s (Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel) life and thought, and Dr. Mel Scult, as biographer of Rabbi Morecai M. Kaplan and scholar of his voluminous diaries, discuss the private lives of Kaplan and Heschel, the relationship between them over many years of teaching at JTS, and their contributions as Jewish public intellectuals.
Read MoreThe Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto
Apr 9, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Podcast or Radio Program
Originally broadcast in 1944, just six months after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ended, “The Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto” provides a dramatic account of life in the Ghetto.
Read MoreA Song for the Conqueror
Apr 4, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Podcast or Radio Program
A 1955 episode of The Eternal Light depicting the power of music to sustain life and hope amidst a Polish ghetto during the Holocaust.
Read MoreJustice, Tzedek, Sadaqah: Pursuing Social Justice in Multi-faith Communities
Feb 21, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
This multi-faith panel of “elders” discusses how multi-faith communities have influenced social justice over the past two decades, what are the current issues being addressed, and what is still to be accomplished. They offer insight into how young activists can play a pivotal role in accomplishing some of these key objectives and what it will mean for the future of this country and our place in a global society.
Read MoreLittle Purim
Feb 12, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Podcast or Radio Program | Purim
A 1951 episode of “The Eternal Light” radio program about a boy and his violin on Purim.
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