Ta Shma

Perhaps the most miraculous time described in the Torah are the events of Yetziat Mitzrayim, the Exodus from Egypt. In fact, God says explicitly that Pharoah will delay “letting the people go” so that He can send even more miracles and wonders. The story of the Exodus reads in some way like a long advertisement for God’s power and strength. But the Kedushat Levi knows that splitting the sea is no more difficult for God than making the sun rise, even though one of them looks miraculous to us and the other looks totally natural. So what is the point of God's miracles? “Yemin Hashem” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

Praying for the sick is a core part of Jewish worship. One of the earliest examples of this is Moshe’s prayer for Miriam in Parashat BeHa’alotkha, one of the most intense and shortest prayers in the Torah. What can the form and style of Moshe’s prayer teach us about how to pray for the healing of others?

Noah is sort-of a hero. On the one hand, he was selected by God to build the ark and save his family and a sampling of animals. On the other, there's no indication that he tried to save anyone else. The Kedushat Levi asks: why is it that Noah was the way he was? What lessons can Noah teach us about faith and self-esteem? “Yemin Hashem” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar's Rising Song Records.

Welcome back to "The Tisch with Dena Weiss: A Taste of Hasidut,” a mini-series for Ta Shma. In this next batch of episodes, Dena Weiss introduces the Kedushat Levi, a classic work of Hasidic thought written by R. Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev. Love and fear are often thought of as being very distinct, opposite poles of our relationship to God. The Kedushat Levi dismantles this paradigm and the strict division and argues that love and fear are closer than they appear, that love is, in fact, dependent on fear. “Yemin Hashem” and “Nigun Hisva'adus” from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

In Parashat Naso we read what is known as the Priestly Blessing, or Birkat Kohanim. This is a moment in which God blesses Israel, through the medium of the priests. This 15-word blessing became one of the most important liturgical pieces in Jewish tradition. Indeed, this serves as part of the conclusion to the public recitation of the morning Amidah. How are we meant to understand this blessing in the context of our prayers?

Torah should be read slowly. Very slowly. One idea—and maybe even one word—at a time. To experience Torah at its most sensual, most fragrant, is to read it slowly and lovingly.

In Parashat Bemidbar, we see the critical importance of separation from the holy, violated by Nadav and Avihu's bringing "strange fire" to the altar. This is directly connected to Havdallah, when we separate between the holy day of Shabbat and the rest of the week.

Jewish sources come down hard on the evils of forgetting Torah, going so far as to consider one who forgets one item of learning "as if he were mortally liable!" Yet who among us hasn’t struggled to remember that piece of learning we did years ago...or even yesterday. As we approach Shavuot, a holiday in which we celebrate Torah by staying up late to learn Torah that we will most likely forget, we'll explore whether there might be positive value in forgetting Torah. No memorization required!

The tenth blessing in the daily Amidah, which asks God to return those in exile, begins, “Sound the great shofar for our freedom…” What kind of freedom are we praying for? And why does a shofar blast herald this freedom?

VaYikra Rabbah is one of the great midrashic collections from the land of Israel in the Talmudic period. In this 4-part class, we will examine one midrash each week, learning to appreciate the craft of this unique genre while holding tight to its spiritual messages.

One of the themes in Sefer Vayikra is the holiness of God. God calls Godself holy five times in the book. In some ways, this is the opposite of our liturgical experience, where we, the worshipers, address God directly and call God holy. What does it mean to say to God as part of our daily prayer: “You are holy”?

Redemption cannot happen without everyone. We learn this lesson from the Seder ritual, when we open our homes by inviting guests and asserting that all who are hungry come and eat. But the idea of radical inclusion is perhaps most clearly found in the laws of the pesah sacrifice itself. Every person should join a group that will offer the pesah sacrifice and eat the entire offering together. Nobody can be left out. This mandate to include everyone in this sacrifice extends so far as to necessitate the creation of an additional make-up holiday for those who were unable to participate in the primary pesach offering. This second-chance holiday is called Pesah Sheini (“Second Passover”), and falls each year exactly one month after Pesah.

The Kaddish contains an anomaly: a liturgical phrase used to respond to God's name, but no triggering mention of God's name. Noting God’s missing name in the prayer, how are we meant to experience the Kaddish? This is a prayer that highlights our sense of the reality in which we dwell, where God’s presence is often experienced as distant. In a world with so much suffering and destruction, God can feel far away. This prayer, built on a response to the name of God that is never uttered, gives voice to that feeling of distance.

The concept of the “קדושת הארץ - sanctity of the Land” simultaneously gives meaning to, and creates a tremendous challenge to, life in the State of Israel. Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, the birthday of the State of Israel, is an opportunity to ask: What is the meaning of living in a place to which holiness is attributed? In what ways is it possible, worthwhile, and appropriate to exist on a daily basis in that holy place?

Asking God for healing is a core aspect of prayer. But the ideal form of this prayer (as expressed in the Amidah) pushes us to widen the circle of our concern. What is the proper model for prayers of healing?

There is no Judaism—no understanding of Jewish history or culture or theology—without accounting for the Shoah. This part of the Jewish story is now canon. For the past eighty years, we have encountered this story directly from the people who endured it. When this last generation of survivors are gone, what will change? How will their absence impoverish us? How will their memory and lessons live on?

Imagine how Aharon must have felt, watching his sons die, on what should have been the greatest day of his life: the inauguration of the system of sacrifices meant to draw God and Israel closer to one another. What is the emotional stance encouraged by the Mourner’s Kaddish? How might the words of Mourner’s Kaddish reflect the grief that mourners experience?

What can cleaning for Pesah teach us about the limits ownership and responsibility? R. Avi Killip shares reflections on the holiday from this year's Hadar Pesah Reader, "L'Or haNer: The Light of Discovery."

How can God command us to feel a particular emotion? While we often can't change feelings on demand, Shabbat offers a pathway for how actions and rituals can cultivate emotions. "Mitteler Rebbe's Kapelya" and "Nigun Hisva'adus" from RAZA Kapelya (2023) by Chana Raskin. Produced by Joey Weisenberg and Chana Raskin for Hadar's Rising Song Records.

How are we meant to conclude the Amidah? What is the emotional orientation to the end of an intense encounter with God?