91快活林

Baseball (A Jewish American Pastime)

May 4, 2026 By Robert Harris | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”   Download Sources With Dr. Robert A. Harris, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, 91快活林 Baseball has long been called America鈥檚 pastime鈥攂ut what happens when we read the game through the lens of鈥痯hilosophy, theology,halakhah, andaggadah? This session explores the striking parallels between rabbinic interpretation and […]

Holy Frustration

May 1, 2026 By Yitz Landes | Commentary | Emor

Like much of Leviticus, Parashat Emor opens with yet more of these rules. But now the Torah needs to acknowledge that even when everything is in the right place, there is still death. What鈥檚 a priest to do when tragedy strikes? 鈥淪peak [Emor] to the priests, the sons of Aaron,鈥� God tells Moses, 鈥渁nd say to them: None shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin, except for the relatives that are closest to him鈥� (Lev. 21:1). In order to stay pure, priests are limited in terms of when they can come near a dead body; even though they may mourn the death of another, the Torah says that they can only be near the corpse of a close relative. After a few terse verses about mourning practices, the Torah enumerates further rules that are meant to keep the priests and High Priest pure, with the upshot being that a priest is 鈥渉oly to their God鈥� (21:7).

How to Be Holy

Apr 24, 2026 By Raymond Scheindlin | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim

This week, we read two parashiyot from Leviticus: Aharei Mot andKedoshim. Taken together, they cover five clearly defined topics. Aharei Mot deals with the rituals of the high priest on Yom Kippur; regulations governing the slaughter of animals for food and sacrifice; and the prohibition of various sexual relations, especially incest. This last subject is resumed at the end ofKedoshim. Between the two discussions of sexual relations is the famousChapter 19, which opensKedoshim. This chapter stands out from the rest of our double parashah鈥攊n fact, from the rest of the book of Leviticus. It is a reprieve from the seemingly endless ritual instructions, most of which are no longer applicable, that make up the bulk of the book; and, thoughChapter 19does include some important ritual instructions, it is mostly devoted to the kind of rules for life that should govern every well-organized society, rules that people of most cultures and religions have tried to inculcate for everyone鈥檚 benefit.

Gender Inside and Outside the Camp

Apr 17, 2026 By Joy Ladin | Commentary | Metzora | Shabbat Rosh Hodesh | Tazria

Most benei mitzvah would do anything to avoid having to talk aboutParashat Tazria-Metzora, a section of theTorah that focuses communal attention on intimate changes in human bodies. InLeviticus 13, God orders Israelites to notice and monitor intimate changes in one another鈥檚 bodies鈥攎enstruation, discharges, eruptions, inflammations, hair growth, 鈥渟welling, rash, discoloration,鈥� and so on. For example,Leviticus 13:2commands:

The Deathly Power of the Holy

Apr 10, 2026 By Marcus Mordecai Schwartz | Commentary | Shemini

Finding the right words after loss is hard, but Moses鈥檚 comments to Aaron in this week鈥檚 parashah are unusually difficult. At the moment that God fills Aaron鈥檚 hands with abundance, appointing him as high-priest and his descendants as an eternal priesthood, his two eldest die when they attempt to offer incense with a flame brought from outside the newly dedicated sanctuary鈥攁 strange, uncommanded offering. 鈥淎nd fire came forth from the LORD and consumed them . . .鈥�

Freedom through Torah

Apr 3, 2026 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Pesah

Freedom in biblical and rabbinic Judaism is a highly complex idea. Consider the mishnah above. At first glance one might think the law, the Ten Commandments carved on the two tablets, would be limiting, constraining human freedom. Counterintuitively, the Sages argue that true freedom only comes from an engagement with Torah! How might 鈥渓aboring in Torah鈥� and living a life according to the demands of the Torah induce freedom?

Elijah鈥攁nd Santa Claus?!

Mar 27, 2026 By Robert Harris | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol

I am certain that I am not the first to point out the similarities between the figures of Elijah the Prophet and Santa Claus鈥�at least in the way those figures have been popularly imagined. Put simply, folklore posits that each of these figures visits individual homes on a religious holiday (Elijah鈥攖hat old shikkur!鈥攕neaks in to […]

From Anxiety to Action: Telling the Story of the World We Want

Mar 23, 2026

At the heart of Passover is a question that feels urgent today: how do we move forward when the future feels uncertain and frightening? This session explores the Crossing of the Sea through midrash and contemporary thought, treating imagination as a muscle that must be strengthened in times of crisis. As we concludeSeasons of Responsibility, we鈥檒l shift focus from individual anxiety to collective responsibility, inviting participants to consider how shared storytelling, community, and action help bring the world we long for into being.

A Covenant of Salt

Mar 20, 2026 By Tim Daniel Bernard | Commentary | Vayikra

Covenant is a central concept in Judaism. The Torah and later tradition make clear that the people Israel have a special relationship with God, and Jews have acquired the epithet 鈥渢he chosen people鈥� (though Jewish particularism need not preclude other peoples having their own unique relationships with God). Rabbi David Hartman,z鈥漧, titled his exposition of Jewish theologyA Living Covenant. Rabbi David Wolpe, in a speech at 91快活林,proposedhighlighting the mainstream ideological approach of Conservative Judaism by rebranding it as 鈥淐ovenantal Judaism.鈥�

The Give and Take of Strength

Mar 13, 2026 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Pekudei | Shabbat Hahodesh | Vayak-hel

Rituals of closure are common in both the secular and religious realms. An example of the first is the sounding of retreat and the lowering of the flag marking the end of the official duty day on military installations. An instance of the second is thesiyyum,a liturgical ritual and festive meal that is occasioned by the completion of the study of a Talmudic tractate. Closure rituals relate not only to the past but to the future as well. On the one hand, the temporal demarcation of a past event facilitates the emergence of its distinct identity, internal coherence, and significance, thereby providing insight, understanding, and, at times, a sense of accomplishment. At the same time, by declaring an end, a closure ritual creates space in which one can鈥攁nd must鈥攂egin anew; the past is to be neither prison nor refuge.

Seasons of Reckoning: The Practice of Moral Accounting

Mar 9, 2026

Sources | Presentation From our Learning Series: Seasons of ResponsibilityJoin us for a timely conversation co-sponsored by the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. Featuring Karenna Gore and Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, this program explores how traditions of moral reflection can guide us.In partnership with the Center for Earth Ethics About the Speaker […]

Kept By Shabbat

Mar 6, 2026 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Commentary | Ki Tissa

Ahad Ha鈥檃m famously said: 鈥淢ore than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.鈥� Pretty remarkable coming from the founder of cultural Zionism!

Parashat Ki Tissa either supports or challenges Ha鈥檃m鈥檚 words. This week鈥檚 parashah relates one of the lowest moments in Israel鈥檚 story鈥攖he sin of the golden calf鈥攊n which Israel dances before a god of their own making. Coming down Mount Sinai with the stone tablets inscribed by God鈥檚 finger (Exod. 31:18), Moses sees Israel鈥檚 frenzy and smashes the tablets. Moses spends the rest of the parashah picking up the pieces and working to restore Israel鈥檚 relationship with God. The parashah ends with God giving a new set of tablets to Moses. The holy covenant between God and Israel is restored.

Zakhor in a Fractured Age

Feb 27, 2026 By Sandra Fox | Commentary | Shabbat Zakhor | Tetzavveh

鈥淐ould you have chosen a more loaded week?鈥� said my husband with a face that can only be described as both bemused and pitying when I told him that I had agreed to write my first 91快活林 Torah Commentary on Shabbat Zakhor. As the heaviness of the reading sank in, with its commandment to recall Amalek鈥檚 unprovoked attack on the Israelites and to 鈥渂lot out鈥� Amalek鈥檚 memory, I became apprehensive.

A Symbol of Peace

Feb 20, 2026 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Terumah

The Arch of Titus in Rome is simultaneously one of the saddest and most exciting places for a Jew to stand. It is but a short distance from the Colosseum, the stadium made famous by its cruel sports, built with money plundered from the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE. Titus鈥檚 Arch celebrates the destruction of our Temple, a building designated by Isaiah to be a house of prayer for all nations. A bas-relief sculpture on the arch鈥檚 inner walls depicts a sickening scene: the triumphant display of the Temple鈥檚 sacred objects, the Menorah most prominent among them, along with a pathetic procession of enslaved Jews.

Wade Melnick – Senior Sermon (RS ’26)

Feb 19, 2026 By 91快活林 Senior Sermon | Commentary | Senior Sermon | Terumah

Wade Melnick-Terumah

Before Them, Before Us: Law as Master, Law as Servant

Feb 13, 2026 By Gordon Tucker | Commentary | Mishpatim | Shabbat Shekalim

讜职讗值诇侄旨讛 讛址诪执旨砖职讈驻指旨讟执讬诐 讗植砖侄讈专 转指旨砖执讉讬诐 诇执驻职谞值讬讛侄诐 These are the rules that you shall place before them. (Exodus 21:1) So begins this week鈥檚 parashah, Mishpatim. It is here that the Jewish legal tradition begins, where Torah (i.e. 鈥淚nstruction鈥�) becomes Nomos or Law. Immediately after that opening sentence, the text continues with rules concerning masters and servants.  […]

Eitan Bloostein – Senior Sermon (RS ’26)

Feb 11, 2026 By 91快活林 Senior Sermon | Commentary | Senior Sermon | Mishpatim

Mishpatim AllClass of 2026 Senior Sermons

On Moses鈥� 鈥淪aying鈥� and 鈥淭elling鈥�

Feb 6, 2026 By Alan Cooper | Commentary | Yitro

The highlight of Parashat Yitro is undoubtedly the spectacular son et lumi猫re at Sinai, accompanying the uniquely unmediated revelation of God鈥檚 鈥渨ords鈥� (the 10 Commandments) directly to the people. The gravity of the occasion demanded special preparation, and most of Exodus 19 is devoted to that preparation…

Noam Blauer – Senior Sermon (RS ’26)

Feb 6, 2026 By 91快活林 Senior Sermon | Commentary | Senior Sermon | Yitro

Yitro AllClass of 2026 Senior Sermons

Between the Lines: The Last Dekrepitzer by Howard Langer

Feb 4, 2026 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture

About The Last Dekrepitzer The fiddler busking in the Columbus Circle subway station in 1965 is the Dekrepitzer Rebbe, the sole survivor of the obscure Dekrepitzer Hasidic sect known before the war for its rebbes鈥� fiddling. The Last Dekrepitzer follows the life and spiritual quest of Shmuel Meir Lichtbencher a/k/a Sam Lightup, from his isolated shtetl in the […]