Ta Shma

The stories we tell about sacrifice tell us about who and what we believe is valuable and noble.  In telling us about the thing that is sacrificed, these stories tell us about what we believe is most difficult to give up. In telling us what we sacrifice for, these stories tell us about what our supreme values should be.  In telling us what inner resources are required to bring the sacrifice, these stories tell us what virtues we ought to cultivate.  In telling us who sacrifices, these stories tell us what a religious hero looks like—and who is capable of becoming such a hero.

From the Talmud to the Rambam and into the modern period, Rabbinic tradition generally views anger negatively. Anger appears as a kind of weakness, a temptation, even as the root of idolatry. But is rage always a bad thing? Can it be useful or morally sound? In this first of three lectures, Rav Micha’el dives into Maimonides’ approach to anger, which seems, at first, contradictory. How can anger both be avoided at all costs and also serve as an educational tool? Recorded in Fall 2024. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/FallLS2024RosenbergRighteousAnger.pdf

We all know the story we are supposed to tell about our matriarchs and their journeys to motherhood.The story structure is simple, even if the journey is not. Woman wants to be a mother. Woman cannot become a mother. Woman waits, prays, and, if necessary, enlists help to conceive. Woman becomes pregnant, finally gives birth to a child, and thanks God. It’s a tidy story, and it expresses most of what we want to think about mothers—that more than anything, that state is what they’ve dreamed for, longed for; that all their lives they have dreamed of holding a baby in their arms; that they are willing to endure any suffering, face any obstacle, endure any humiliation, to reach that moment.But we know that that is not the story for all mothers.  We know that motherhood, for many women, is a much more fraught, complicated, even ambivalent journey.  And we know that some women, some mothers, never wanted children at all.

What does it mean to celebrate Thanksgiving as a Jew?  In some sense, the question is a cipher for a larger one:  What does it mean to take our identities as American and as Jewish both seriously?  We regularly speak of Moroccan Jews or Polish Jews, German Jews or Algerian Jews; we understand that each of these Jewish communities represents a meaningful expression of Judaism, reflecting both the enduring wisdom of Torah as well as specific cultural settings.  In my experience, we less often think of “American Judaism” in this sense.  America might be where we find ourselves, but we tend not to relate to it as our “kind” of Judaism.  What does it mean to take seriously our Judaism as a uniquely American variety?

At the end of this week’s parashah, Avraham—who has been promised time and time again ownership over all the land of Canaan—owns nothing but a grave.When we read Avraham’s journey carefully, this ending may not surprise us.  From the very beginning of Parashat Lekh Lekha, Avraham’s life is marked by fantastic, unbelievable promises, shortly followed by obstacles that make their fulfillment seem impossible.  Told by God to leave his home behind, Avraham arrives in Canaan, where God gives him the first promise: Your children—the children who don’t exist yet—will inherit this land.  Avraham sacrifices to God in gratitude—and then, almost immediately, the dream turns to ashes.  There is a famine in the land—the land that God just promised to Avraham’s descendents—a famine so devastating that Avraham and his family, newly arrived, go to Egypt in order to survive.

The psalms attached liturgically to each day of the week are often mumbled over quickly, without much attention to their meaning. In this series, we'll engage in careful literary-theological readings of these psalms, looking at how various midrashim interpret the psalms, and bring new meaning to this part of our daily prayers. Key themes explored will include the idea that God creates the world by subduing the chaotic forces that threaten life; the notion that a concern for justice is what makes a god "qualified" to be one; and the question of what kind of character those who seek to live in God's presence must have. Recorded in Fall 2023. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/HeldShirimMonday2023.pdf

There is a script for mothers of sick children. There are imperatives: do everything.  Seek a second opinion, and a third, and a fourth.  Learn to sleep sitting up.  Show up to doctors appointments prepared with a binder the size of a local phonebook.  Ask every question, pursue every option.And never, ever give up.

The psalms attached liturgically to each day of the week are often mumbled over quickly, without much attention to their meaning. In this series, we'll engage in careful literary-theological readings of these psalms, looking at how various midrashim interpret the psalms, and bring new meaning to this part of our daily prayers. Key themes explored will include the idea that God creates the world by subduing the chaotic forces that threaten life; the notion that a concern for justice is what makes a god "qualified" to be one; and the question of what kind of character those who seek to live in God's presence must have. Recorded in Fall 2023. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/HeldShirimSunday2023.pdf

It’s possible that if things had been different, if things had gone as planned, that Yishmael, Avraham’s half-Egyptian son of a slave, might have been our ancestor instead of Yitzhak.

Last week Hadar celebrated the arrival of a newly commissioned and completed Sefer Torah, which was generously donated by the Schiller family in memory of Martin Schiller z”l. Rabbi Ethan Tucker’s address, focusing on the important and timeless elements of Torah scrolls, speaks directly to Hadar’s core values, while honoring the memory of Martin Schiller. Recorded in October 2024. Transcript and source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/TuckerHakhnasatSeferTorah2024.pdf