JTS Torah Commentary

JTS High Holiday Webinars 2024

Prepare for 5785 with three meaningful, enriching sessions.

Seeking the Hiding God: A Personal Theological Essay

By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

To mark this period of spiritual atonement and reflection, Dr. Eisen discussed his rich, original, and moving work and invite us to ask, perhaps for the first time, what we actually believe about ultimate matters of faith and doubt. Those of us searching for ultimate meaning will find reassurance that the search itself can be a source of personal fulfillment, vibrant community, and great joy. The book’s three chapters include a Passover Seder with its theme of past and future redemption; the Yom Kippur liturgy that guides worshippers through the difficult work of atonement, forgiveness and return; and the day-to-day responsibilities, personal and communal, of covenant, mitzvah, and love. 

The Toledo-Constantinople Bible

By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

Like all Masoretic texts, the Toledo-Constantinople Bible (MS New York L6) includes precise Hebrew and Aramaic text, vocalization, and accents of the 24 books of the Hebrew canon. The colophon[1] of this Bible reveals a statement of profound resilience.

The Esslingen Mahzor

By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

In the winter of 1290 in Esslingen, a small market town in southwest Germany, a talented Jewish scribe named Kalonimos ben Yehudah completed his one surviving credited work, The Esslingen Mahzor (MS New York 9344), the earliest-dated Hebrew book made in Germany. It is a large-format prayer book created for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.