The Voice of the Prophet
Oct 10, 2017 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Podcast or Radio Program
Reclaim the message of the prophets for today with the weekly Haftarah portion narrated in English by renowned actor Ronald Guttman.
Read MoreFearless Women
Jul 14, 2017 By Meredith Katz | Commentary | Pinehas
Many narratives coalesce in Parashat Pinehas, and it is challenging to review without connection to the current political and social climate. The daughters of Zelophehad make a proposal to inherit their father’s portion, as part of a land division framework aiming toward equality: “to the more thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the less inheritance.” The daughters raise their claim with Moses et al. as women, demanding their right to inherit in the absence of any sons, a significant step for women in ancient times that is then added to the canon.
Read MoreLeftover Scraps
May 5, 2017 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim | Shavuot
The Torah exhorts us in this week’s parashah: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest…you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger” (Lev. 19:9-10). This mitzvah plays out in beautiful narrative form in the Book of Ruth, read on the upcoming holiday of Shavuot. But Ruth is the exception; she is rescued from her destitute state by Boaz, the owner of the field where she gleans, who marries her. What of all those who remained gleaners—whose survival depended on the daily toil of gathering other people’s leftovers?
Read MoreAnother Passover Season
Apr 14, 2017 By Ruth Messinger | Commentary | Pesah
As we come, again, to the end of another Passover season, many of us are looking forward to moving beyond the matzah intensity. We are obliged, also, to ask ourselves what it means to have retold the story of our people’s quest for freedom, what new insights we might have gained, what the lessons are that we should take back into the world. I want to talk about our commitment to fight oppression as it manifests itself today in our lives and in the lives of others, and I want to make some observations about the roles there are to play in these struggles, about what we can learn about how to lead in these endeavors.
Read MoreGlobal Refugee Crisis: Time for New Thinking
Mar 16, 2017 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
David Milliband, president of the International Rescue Committee and former UK Foreign Secretary, discusses ways to address one of the most pressing political and moral issues of our time.
Read MoreIs It Right?
Mar 17, 2017 By Yehudah Webster | Commentary | Ki Tissa
Cowardice asks the question: is it safe? Expediency asks the question: is it politic? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular—but one must take it simply because it is right.
Read More—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “A Proper Sense of Priorities”
The US Health Care System: What Does the Future Hold?
Feb 14, 2017 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 took a giant step toward universal health insurance coverage in the United States. Although it has been quite successful in accomplishing that goal, it has remained highly controversial. The new Administration is intent on repealing the law and replacing it with an alternative model.
Why is health care reform so challenging? Why does “Obamacare” look as it does? Could alternative plans under consideration achieve the same gains? And what are the political prospects of those alternatives? Prominent health policy expert Dr. Sherry Glied describes the past, present, and possible future of health reform efforts in the US.
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