Facing Our Past and Looking Toward the Future

May 27, 2016 By Michal Raucher | Commentary | Behar

Recently, the US Treasury Department announced that Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, on the $20 bill. Tubman was born as a slave around 1820, ran away in 1849, and returned south repeatedly to usher more than 300 slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Her selection for the $20 bill is exciting news, because Tubman will be the first African American and the first woman to appear on federal paper currency. Women and civil rights leaders will be added to the $5 and $10 bills in the coming years, as well. While these changes are long overdue, the question is whether this change is merely symbolic or a further step toward acknowledging our nation’s ugly history of slavery. 

Beyond the Exodus from Egypt

Apr 15, 2016 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Pesah

Most of us, at one time or another, have asked the question about the Passover seder that the Haggadah attributes to the “wicked son”: What is the point of all this? At such moments of skepticism, we probably understand why an annual family gathering is worthwhile, we perhaps remember fondly the seders of our youth, and we may even confess to being moved by the rituals reenacted at the seder table year after year: reciting the four questions, dripping wine from cup to plate at the recital of the ten plagues, singing Had Gadya. But really, we ask: Why is the event of Israelite slaves leaving Egypt over 3,000 years ago (if it ever happened in the first place) so important that an entire holiday is devoted to it (not to mention countless daily prayers)?

The Ethics of Health Care Reform

Oct 4, 2012 By Daniel Nevins | Public Event audio

Rabbi Daniel Nevins, Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School of The Jewish Theological Seminary, delivers a lecture on “The Ethics of Health Care Reform” at Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Are We Taking Too Much?

Oct 4, 2012 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event audio

The 2010 Bokser Memorial Lecture, “Are We Taking Too Much? Urgent values Questions Brought into Focus by the Global Recession.” Featuring an opening presentation by Dr. Noam Zohar of Bar-ilan University, followed by text study led by Dr. Eliezer Diamond and Rabbi Nina Cardin, and concluding with a panel discussion between these three, moderated by Prof. Alan Mittleman.

Redeemed for This Reason

Sep 17, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ki Tetzei

Hurricane Katrina united our country in common empathy and purpose. The outpouring of support, monetary and otherwise, has been greater than most of us could have hoped for or imagined. But was it really so surprising? The Torah suggests that our national response was correct but would not have expected any less.

“You must not remain indifferent”

Aug 28, 2004 By JTS Alumni | Commentary | Ki Tetzei

By Rabbi Marc Sack (RS ’82)

My grandfather was a storyteller, not by profession, but by nature. He never lost an opportunity to tell my siblings and me about his journey to this country and the travails of his life. By profession, he was a fruit peddler. He had a large van-like truck that he loaded with fruits and vegetables every morning, going out to the neighborhoods in and around Hartford to hawk his goods. Sometimes, my grandfather hired teenagers to help him on the truck. In fact, I, myself, did this for a couple of summers. One of these helpers — this must have been in the early 1950s — was an African American teen. One summer morning, my grandfather and his helper finished loading the truck and stopped at a restaurant for breakfast. They sat down at a table, but the owner said that he would not serve the young man. The way my grandfather told it, he said to the owner, “If you won’t serve him, you won’t serve me,” and they got up and left the restaurant.

Let All Who Are Hungry Come and Eat

Apr 16, 2011 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Aharei Mot | Shabbat Hagadol

One of my favorite customs for Shabbat Hagadol is to read the Maggid section of the Passover Haggadah in advance of the first seder.

Gospel of Freedom

Jan 29, 2014 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event audio

Dr. Jonathan Rieder delves deeper than anyone before into Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” illuminating both its timeless message and crucial position in the history of civil rights.