Ta Shma

I was eight years old in Basel, Switzerland the day I learned about the way places have layers.  It was a chilly, autumn shabbos, and my father and I were on a walk by the river.  My father pointed out different sights as we walked: there is the house where his elementary school friend lived.  There is the gate they walked through to get to school, there is the shop run by the woman rumored to be a witch.  And there, he said, pointing to a small, shady area, is the place where they burned the Jews in the 14th century.

What can the Bible teach us about navigating our way through a time of climate emergency?  In this series, R. Shai Held explores three key biblical texts that offer differing (but perhaps complementary) approaches to understanding our place in this divinely created and much-more-than-human world. Recorded in Winter 2025.Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/HeldClimateChange2025Part3.pdf

What do you do when you feel—or when you know—that because of your actions, you are entirely alone in the world?

Thinking about our own transgressions and repentance is hard, and so it makes sense that we often latch on to metaphors to help us think about these ideas.  Perhaps the strangest metaphor I know of appears in the Zohar. 

There is something about our relationship with God that holds us back from unbridled grief.

What can the Bible teach us about navigating our way through a time of climate emergency?  In this series, R. Shai Held explores three key biblical texts that offer differing (but perhaps complementary) approaches to understanding our place in this divinely created and much-more-than-human world. Recorded in Winter 2025.Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/HeldClimateChange2025Part2.pdf

Of course the Jews thought that they would starve when they left Egypt.In Moshe’s retelling of the story of the mann (manna), that is deliberate.  There is something about the mann that is inextricably linked to hunger—or, at least, our fear of it.

Shai Held, a biblical scholar and theologian, dives deep into how scripture can guide us through today's climate crisis. He discusses our intrinsic connection to nature as depicted in Genesis, challenging the view of humanity as separate from the environment. Held emphasizes farming as a divine vocation and the balance between significance and stewardship. He critiques traditional interpretations of Genesis, urging a reevaluation of our responsibilities to the planet, while highlighting the scriptural call for justice and care in governance.

There is no such thing, for a Jew, as loving God without loving human beings as well.Our love for God is bound up with our love for others: for the parents who taught us His name, and the grandparents who taught them.  For the children we raise to know Him.  For every ancestor, too far back for us to remember their names, who remembered God’s covenant with our people and dedicated their lives to transmitting that memory.

Explore the transformative power of love as a central tenet of Judaism, challenging misconceptions about divine affection. Delve into the complexities of discussing God in American Judaism while recognizing the impact of trauma on belief. Discover how Jewish teachings redefine love, encouraging dialogue about community and interpersonal relationships. Learn how philanthropy can deepen spiritual engagement and reinforce social justice as an essential component of Jewish life.