Best Hadar Institute Podcasts (2024)

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Episode 428: Reading with Our Hands and Ears - Livia Thompson 51:10

10h ago51:10

51:10

Livia Thompson serves as the Executive Director of JBI (formerly Jewish Braille Institute): an organization enabling access to Jewish life through audio, braille, and large-print texts. She joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about JBI and its powerful work. This episode is the 4th in an ongoing series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring Disabil…

1
Episode 427: Rabbi on the Spectrum - Tzemah Yoreh 57:51

9d ago57:51

57:51

Tzemah Yoreh is a rabbi, scholar, and liturgist who recently wrote a book entitled So Compassionate It Hurts: My Life as a Rabbi On the Spectrum. He joins Judaism Unbound for the third episode in an ongoing series exploring Disability Torah. There are some amazing mini-course offerings beginning at the end of April in the UnYeshiva. Check out these…

1
R. David Kasher on Parashat Metzora: Like a Leper Messiah 12:06

9d ago12:06

12:06

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 …

1
"In Every Generation" 32:27

9d ago32:27

32:27

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…

1
Dr. Jeremy Tabick: Why Are There Four Cups at the Seder? 48:16

11d ago48:16

48:16

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…

1
Why Do Bad Things Happen? 42:00

12d ago42:00

42:00

R. Aviva Richman joins R. Shai Held to discuss one of the most difficult moral and religious questions - why do bad things happen? Where is God when they do? Personal childhood memories of confronting this question lead them to explore how being present might mediate God's presence, to appreciate petitionary prayer in nuanced and sophisticated ways…

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Episode 426: Sephardi and Mizrachi Identities - Beyond Ashkenormativity - Hadar Cohen 53:20

14d ago53:20

53:20

Hadar Cohen is an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic and artist. She teaches spirituality and Jewish mysticism at Malchut, a mystical school teaching direct experience of God, creates art focused on shifting societal narratives, such as Prostrations and The Selichot Project, and writes about Judaism through the lens of intersectional feminism, as seen in …

1
R. David Kasher on Parashat Tazria: Covenantal Numerology 15:06

16d ago15:06

15:06

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…

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R. Elie Kaunfer: Is the Seder Really So Ordered? 15:17

19d ago15:17

15:17

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…

1
What If I'm Not Sure I Believe in God? 36:30

20d ago36:30

36:30

What if I don't believe in God? What if I'm not sure? Rabbi Dr. Leon Wiener Dow joins Rabbi Shai Held to reflect on the importance of doubt and continuing to question. They identify some of the straight-jackets that we put on our thinking about God and explore the possibility of being open to a spiritual life with or without a belief in God.…

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Episode 425: Passover 2024 - Miriam, Dan, and Lex 43:31

21d ago43:31

43:31

Judaism Unbound’s executive director Miriam Terlinchamp, senior Jewish educator Lex Rofeberg, and senior fellow Dan Libenson take a close look at Passover, discussing everything from matzah scultpures to individual vs. collective liberation. ---------------------------------------------------- There are some amazing mini-course offerings beginning …

1
R. David Kasher on Parashat Shemini: Waters of Hope 11:08

24d ago11:08

11:08

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 …

1
Jewish Law and Jewish Values: A Conversation with R. Ethan Tucker and R. Aviva Richman 1:10:20

26d ago1:10:20

1:10:20

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.By Hadar Institute

1
Am I My Brother's Keeper? 42:41

26d ago42:41

42:41

Universalism or particularism? It's often cited as a debate of one versus the other, but R. Shai Held and R. Jill Jacobs reflect on how both these priorities can actually strengthen the other. They consider texts that speak to how we live out our values as well as how to raise kids who care deeply.By Hadar Institute

1
Is Israel Fighting Amalek? 32:10

30d ago32:10

32:10

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.By Hadar Institute

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Episode 424: The Superpowers of Blind Rabbis - Lauren Tuchman 56:05

28d ago56:05

56:05

Lauren Tuchman is a sought-after spiritual leader and educator whose work focuses on disability access and inclusion. Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2018, she is, as far as she is aware, the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the nexus between visua…

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R. David Kasher on Parashat Tzav: Four Links in a Chain 17:08

1M ago17:08

17:08

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.…

1
R. Micha'el Rosenberg: Making Sense of Insensible Food Laws 52:50

1M ago52:50

52:50

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…

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Why Did God Create the World? 40:42

1M ago40:42

40:42

Why did God create the world - and why did God create me within it? R. Yitz Greenberg joins R. Shai Held to ponder these theological questions and consider what it means to have a posture of gratitude and to know that we each have an individual mission or purpose in the world.By Hadar Institute

1
Episode 423: Disability Torah - Julia Watts Belser 57:08

1M ago57:08

57:08

Julia Watts Belser is a rabbi, scholar, and longtime disability and queer activist. She currently serves as a professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University, and core faculty in Georgetown's Disability Studies Program. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about her late…

1
R. David Kasher on Parashat Vayikra: A Prehistory of the Sacrifices 13:15

1M ago13:15

13:15

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…

1
R. Avi Strausberg on Purim: Look to the World and Find God 8:58

1M ago8:58

8:58

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…

1
Why Does the Torah Allow Slavery? 36:45

1M ago36:45

36:45

What do we do when we encounter morally troubling parts of Torah? Dr. Arna Poupko Fisher joins R. Shai Held to try and understand slavery in the Torah's historical context, as well as how we might understand the Torah more broadly as launching us into a more ethical legal trajectory. Their sage advice on nurturing kids' moral passions and finding o…

1
Episode 422: Purim 2024 - Miriam, Dan, and Lex 44:07

1M ago44:07

44:07

Judaism Unbound’s executive director Miriam Terlinchamp, senior Jewish educator Lex Rofeberg, and senior fellow Dan Libenson dig into all things Purim: the darkness of the book of Esther, the yonic nature of hamantaschen, and the appropriate ratio of comedy to tragedy when it comes to honoring the holiday. Access full shownotes for this episode via…

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R. David Kasher on Parashat Pekudei: The Invisible Palace 10:24

2M ago10:24

10:24

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…

1
Was the World Really Created in Six Days? 37:52

2M ago37:52

37:52

In a playful and poignant way, Rabbis Shai Held and Brad Artson explore questions of science and Torah. Was the world really created in six days? What are the truths we can discover when we look deeply at Torah and its stories?By Hadar Institute

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R. Leah Sarna and R. Tali Adler: The Torah of Pregnancy 52:50

2M ago52:50

52:50

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.…

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Episode 421: Radically Jewish Time - Ariana Katz, Jessica Rosenberg 58:27

2M ago58:27

58:27

Ariana Katz, founder of Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl, sees rooted ritual and radical organizing as her Jewish legacy. Jessica Rosenberg, author of Introduction to Trauma, Healing and Resilience for Rabbis, Jewish Educators and Organizers, is a teacher on integrating trauma-informed pedagogy into Jewish education, ritual and organizing. The…

1
R. David Kasher on Parashat VaYakhel: Half-Measures 10:34

2M ago10:34

10:34

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.By Hadar Institute

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Feminism in a Time of War 27:33

2M ago27:33

27:33

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).By Hadar Institute

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