For many of us, the past six months have been an education in powerlessness. From where I sit in America, I felt powerless hearing about the brutality and depravity of October 7. I felt powerless sitting comfortably in my home while day after day people were held hostage in underground darkness, uncared for and unseen. I felt powerless as the death…

With the mishkan operational and the priesthood now in place, Parashat Aharei Mot begins with a description of the service that will be the pinnacle of that system: the Yom Kippur Avodah.על ידי Hadar Institute

A message on Titus 1:10-16 by Pastor Trevor Killip

Message by Aaron Thompson

In celebration of 100 episodes of Responsa Radio, we're re-releasing our favorites with an update from Rav Eitan and Rav Avi at the end of the episode. Our producer, Jeremy Tabick's favorite is episode #7: The laws of eruv—constructing a sometimes questionable boundary around a neighborhood to allow carrying objects on shabbat—often seem obscure, b…

We Jews, who have been perennial outcasts, ought to read the Torah’s account of the leper with particular care.“Leper,” we should note from the outset, is not really an accurate rendering of the Hebrew, מצורע (metzora). The biblical affliction of tza’arat is clearly different from what we today call “leprosy,” most obviously so because it can only …

The Haggadah describes how "in every generation, they stand against us to destroy us." At the same time, the lesson of the Exodus from Egypt in the Torah is to translate our suffering into empathy, to remember that we were strangers in Egypt and therefore look after the strangers today. As we enter a complicated Pesah, how can we hold these two nar…

Part of the sermon series on Titus Preached by Pastor Trevor Killip At Hope Community Church, West Salem, WI On Sunday 4/14/2024

Ever wondered why we have to drink four cups of wine at our Seders? This class explores the history and the symbolism of this idea and how it transforms from something more functional to the framing around the entirety of Seder night. Fittingly, there are at least four different ways to think about these cups! Recorded on 4/10/24. Source sheet: htt…

Dave Reineke teaches on the meaning of Blood Covenant in the bible. 4/7/2024 Hope Community Church West Salem, WI

In celebration of 100 episodes of Responsa Radio, we're re-releasing our favorites with an update from Rav Eitan and Rav Avi at the end of the episode. Our sound engineer, David Khabinsky's favorite is episode #78: A few months ago, one of the largest kosher certification agencies announced that it would not certify "Impossible Pork," despite the f…

From the very beginning, the Torah imbues certain numbers with great significance. The first chapter of Genesis carefully divides Creation into seven days. Seven then becomes the most significant number in nearly all Jewish time rituals—not just Shabbat, but Pesah, Shavuot, Sukkot, as well as the seventh month, the seventh year, the seven cycles of…

There's a catchy song that tells us what we're supposed to do during the Seder and when (Kaddeish Urhatz). But when you dig a little deeper, the song is a little simplistic for the actual Seder structure. How can the giant Maggid section be covered by a single word? And why is Hallel actually split into two? Rav Elie discusses the overall structure…

I'm planning on going to the total solar eclipse that will be visible in North America on April 8th. is there a blessing or some other liturgy that I should say as I see it?על ידי Hadar Institute

Throughout our history, one of the central institutions of a Jewish community has been the mikveh. Immersion in this ritual bath was required in Temple times in order to purify oneself after coming into contact with various types of tumah (ritual impurity). Since then, the practical need for a mikveh has been relegated primarily to the laws of sex …

In this panel discussion given at the February Learning Seminar 2024, Hadar’s rashei yeshiva, R. Ethan Tucker and R. Aviva Richman, reflect on their approach to Jewish law and how our quest for God can be lived through the details of our halakhic lives.על ידי Hadar Institute

A message by Pastor Trevor Killip

A Message by Pastor Trevor Killip

Rav Avital and Rav Elazar reflect on what it means to celebrate Purim in the shadow of war. They explore how we might grapple with the suffering of innocent people in Gaza through Torah.על ידי Hadar Institute

I was trying to help someone on the street get some food. They asked for a sandwich, so I went into a nearby shop—and suddenly panicked because I realized it was Passover! What was I supposed to do in this case? What are the parameters of buying and touching hameitz for non-Jews during the holiday?על ידי Hadar Institute

For the most part, Parashat Tzav repeats much of what we learned last week in Parashat Vayikra. Again, the Torah details the choreography of the sacrificial system—only this time from the perspective of the priest. All of the offerings from last week show up again. But there is at least one thing that is unique to Tzav: a shalshelet.…

To what extent is Jewish law “fake” or “real”? Is halakhah a game where you can say whatever you want, or does a ruling, once issued, create a new reality? What are the underlying principles of kashrut and Jewish food laws? Recorded live at Hadar's Manger Winter Learning Seminar in January 2024. Source sheet available here: https://mechonhadar.s3.a…

A message by pastor Trevor Killip

My family are coming in from 1000s of miles away for the eclipse on April 8th, but they won't be around for Pesah on April 22nd. I want to do a mock or model Seder with them, but I know some things are only supposed to be done on actual Seder night. What should I include or exclude? How can I make the mock Seder feel substantive, but at the same ti…

The laws of Leviticus appear to be entirely separate from the narrative and themes of the Torah so far. Exodus, by contrast, picks up directly from the narrative of Genesis, and—as we have seen—even the case laws in Exodus sometimes make subtle references to earlier stories. But when we enter Leviticus, we feel ourselves to be in another kind of bo…

As someone who longs to feel God’s presence in my life in a clear and direct manner, I have always been struck by the fact that God is noticeably absent from Megillat Esther. In a story that is about the near demise and heroic salvation of the Jewish people, it is not God’s hand that is featured in this story as the saving force, but rather the hum…

Colossians 3-4:6

There is something hidden in the mishkan. A story of creation. Nehama Leibowitz, the great 20th century compiler of Torah commentary, calls our attention to a group of modern scholars who sensitized us to the use of repetition as a rhetorical device in the description of the building of the mishkan. She cites a list of the greats: Buber, Rosenzweig…

I'm organizing my community's reading of Megillat Esther. Can I include English explanations or kids' plays between the chapters? What is at stake in breaking up the reading?על ידי Hadar Institute

From one perspective, pregnancy is a miracle. But from another, pregnancy is a nightmare. In her essay that won the Ateret Zvi Prize in Hiddushei Torah, Rabbanit Leah Sarna argues that the Jewish tradition makes space for both of these stories about pregnancy. This presentation and conversation with Rabbi Tali Adler is from February 2024.…

Philip Runge preaches through the first two chapters of Colossians and expounds on Christ's supremacy in all things.

In celebration of 100 episodes of Responsa Radio, we're re-releasing our favorites with an update from Rav Eitan and Rav Avi at the end of the episode. Responsa Radio creator David Zvi Kalman's favorite is episode #9: I'm a lawyer who often has to look at crime scene photos. What are the considerations of k'vod ha-met (honor for the dead) that I sh…

Is there meaning in a measurement? Two great masters of midrashically-styled Torah commentary—both writing in 14th century Spain—will offer two very different interpretations of a particular form of measurement that appears frequently in this week’s Torah reading: the half.על ידי Hadar Institute

The reality in Israel today is that the people on the battlefield are mostly men and the people left behind to look after their homes and children are mostly women. Rav Avital shares some reflections on this situation through the lens of the women's contribution to the mishkan (tabernacle).על ידי Hadar Institute