Mechon Hadar Online Learning

Parashat Kedoshim explored the centrality of consent in a relationship with God, that one can’t be “coerced” to bring an offering. The importance of our will in sacred relationship goes beyond the basic need for consent. In Parashat Emor, we will develop another dimension of human will in sacrifices: the importance of intention and attentiveness. Sacred relationship becomes an exercise of cultivating radical ratzon.

What is our responsibility towards others who may feel jealous of what we have? Dena Weiss explores how to think about privilege and how we can act in a way that is sensitive to the experiences of those around us. This lecture was originally delivered as part of the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program in January 2022.

According to many interpreters, we achieve kedushah by curbing our desire. Holiness, in this view, inextricably entails suppression of our will. Taken to its extreme, this can lead to a notion that being in relationship with God requires blind obedience and negation of ourselves. In contrast, it is also possible to understand kedushah in a way that features—rather than suppresses—our will. Through an expansive reading of the concept of ratzon (will), we can strive for an ethics of kedushah that focuses on consent and mutuality as central to deep relationship, with God and others.

We live in a time of unprecedented climate emergency: greenhouse gas emissions are causing vast and irreversible changes to the the Earth’s climate. How should religious people respond to the crisis? Rabbi Shai Held takes a theological approach and response to the climate crisis, considering how the Bible describes God’s relationship with the Earth and the challenges humans face when they forget the divine role in creation. This lecture was originally delivered as a part of the Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest in January 2021.

In some rabbinic midrashim, biblical characters cross over into different story lines, creating whole new backgrounds for their characters. Rabbi Ethan Tucker looks at the stories of Boaz and Job to demonstrate that, by reading these new storylines, we learn important lessons we would otherwise miss. This is part 3 of Hadar's 2021 Fall Lecture Series.

Last week, in Parashat Tazria, we saw that our capability to be full partners in Torah is anchored in the messy and sometimes disorienting details of our embodied lives. In Parashat Metzora, we see the importance of narration, how giving voice to our experience plays an important role in a model of Torah and halakhah that conveys dignity and is a source of healing.

>Who are Hur, Yair ben Menashe, and Serah bat Asher and why do these minor biblical characters appear in midrash far removed from their own stories? Rabbi Ethan Tucker looks at each of their stories to demonstrate that their insertions are not random, but are based on close reading of the biblical narrative and a rabbinic desire to emphasize certain morals in the text. This is part 2 of Hadar's 2021 Fall Lecture Series.

Tazria is a parashah that people often find more repelling than compelling. Why so many words dedicated to bodily emissions and the intricate appearance of skin diseases? This Torah of the body touches on the relationship between halakhah and individuals’ embodied experiences.

When a midrash seems so fantastical and outlandish that you conclude it must be made up, you are probably not reading the text as closely as the midrash. Rabbi Ethan Tucker demonstrates how the midrash justly describes the reemergence of early biblical figures in later biblical narratives, and uses these figures to teach values and fill in gaps in the text. This is part 1 of Hadar's 2021 Fall Lecture Series.

It is hard to imagine a parashah more devastating than Shemini, or more of a testament to the stamina of enduring relationship despite all. When we experience the events of this day through the inner worlds of Aharon and his wife Elisheva, there is much to learn about relationship that persists through guilt, anxiety, and loss.

In times of despair and sadness, hope plays an important role. But can there be danger from too much hope? R.Avi Strausberg explores a wide variety of sources from the Talmud to modern poetry to explore how we can incorporate hope into our lives without being crushed by hope of a world that never comes. This lecture was originally delivered as the Dr. Eddie Scharfman Memorial Lecture in January 2021.

Parashat Tzav opens with an image of constancy, the fire on the altar that always burns, never extinguished. The unextinguished fire is not just practical, burning sacrifices throughout the day and fats throughout the night; it represents an ongoing and unwavering connection between the people and God. Yet, an honest religious life involves flux, times when we do feel strong connection and times when we don’t.

The first verse in Vayikra seems mundane and predictable; God speaks to Moshe in the mishkan (tabernacle), as God does throughout much of the Torah. Yet, the call of Vayikra is an unexpected gesture of intimacy. Through this lens, the whole book of Vayikra represents an invitation into relationship across apparent obstacles and boundaries. Vayikra asks of us: what are the ways in which we feel distant from God or others? What does it mean to hear a call beckoning us close in those very moments of distance?

How can Avraham bear to sacrifice his son Yitzchak without any show of emotion or despair? Dena Weiss offers an explanation to this question, using midrash to view the text through an emotional lens. This lecture was originally delivered as part of Hadar’s Summer Learning Retreat in June 2021.

The Book of Shemot ends in a striking tension: God’s presence fills the mishkan but also precludes Moshe from entering. Having shepherded the people into relationship with God, and having fought so hard to maintain that, Moshe now faces the possibility that the terms of his own relationship with God have drastically changed, as he is shut out of the mishkan. What can we learn from the model of Moshe about how to adapt to unexpected twists and turns in our own roles and relationships?

In rabbinic midrash, Moshe brings his case for immortality to God. What does Moshe argue and why does he believe he should be exempt from death? As R. Elie Kaunfer guides us through a text from Devarim Rabbah, we learn not only about Moshe’s fear of mortality, but also about our own anxieties around death and running out of time. This lecture was originally delivered as part of Hadar’s Summer Learning Retreat in June 2021.

There is a classic debate about the order of the Torah with respect to the passages about the mishkan (tabernacle) and the golden calf. In one view, it was written in order, with God’s intention for the mishkan derailed by the people’s sin, but ultimately restored as they achieve forgiveness. In the other view, the text is out of order, and the mishkan came only in response to the people’s sin. When we integrate the insights of both sides of this debate, we land on a third approach that emphasizes the power of taking initiative in relationships, even though we aren’t certain what to expect.

For most of the week, and most of our lives, we devote ourselves to the hard work of slowly getting closer to what we most hope for and long for, in terms of who we can become, the relationships we have, and what our world can be. We are always aware of the work that remains to be done. We take a break from this work on Shabbat, not just because we are tired and need time off, but to bring a sense of our true selves into clear focus, and to know that what feels like the unattainable vision towards which we strive can actually be real.

“God said, 'let us make human beings in our image'” (Genesis 1:26). Who is God speaking to and what does it mean to be made in God’s image? Rabbi Shai Held dives into the midrash on this text, offering rabbinic explanations to these questions and unearthing the theological and ethical questions that come up along the way. This lecture was originally delivered as part of Hadar’s Summer Learning Retreat in June 2021.

Terumah and Tetzaveh offer a visual landscape of the mishkan, its structure, its furnishings and the dress of those who served in it. One thing that is lacking from this picture is a soundscape. The Torah doesn’t indicate that any words were recited in the mishkan, in prayer or in song. In fact, if we picture the mishkan based on this week’s parashah, the only sound was from the jingling bells on the bottom of the robe worn by the Kohen Gadol. The resonant sound of these bells evokes the steady rhythm of the high priest in worship, but also carries painful overtones of what is most haunting and unresolved as we try to approach the Divine.