Mechon Hadar Online Learning

Dena Weiss. Parashat Tetzaveh is notable not only for what it contains but also for what it lacks. From the point of Moshe’s birth in the second chapter of Shemot throughout the entire journey in the wilderness, Moshe’s name appears in every single Torah portion…except for this week’s, Parashat Tetzaveh. Where did Moshe go? Why is his name absent from this section of the Torah?

Dena Weiss. The mishkan is where God dwells. Although we often translate mishkan as “tabernacle” and the keilim within it as “vessels,” it is more simple and more accurate to translate mishkan as “home” and keilim as “furniture.” This week’s parashah provides the details of how to construct God’s home and specific instructions about how to furnish it.

Dena Weiss. Our parashah opens, וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם and these are the laws that you shall place before them. Rashi comments that the phrase “and these” frames these laws as a continuation of the Ten Commandments that were given in the previous Torah portion. Both the broad principles in the Ten Commandments and the detailed laws contained in this parashah were given at Har (Mount) Sinai. This suggestion of Rashi’s catches the attention of the Ma’or VaShemesh since Rashi already stated at the beginning of Parashat Behar that all of the mitzvot were given on Har Sinai. Why would the laws of Mishpatim need to be singled out as having Sinaitic origin?

Aviva Richman. Towards a Redemptive Narrative. Recorded live on January 30, 2018. In this turbulent moment of public attention to sexual assault and harassment, we will probe rabbinic sources that speak to our questions, fears and hopes. When approached with sensitivity and creativity, how can our tradition help us envision the meaning of leadership, the role of community and the importance of theology in confronting these realities? We will focus on rabbinic stories, theological and poetic texts to deepen and complicate Jewish legal text on sexual assault. What role can Jewish text play in a path toward healing?

Dena Weiss. The Ten Commandments begin with God’s introduction, Anokhi Adonai Elohekha, I am Adonai your God. The way that God introduces Himself is critical to understanding the nature of the revelation at Sinai. It teaches us what it means to receive the Torah in an active and enduring way and it explains how we can endeavor to use the Torah as a means to understand God better, understand ourselves better, and to become better people.

Aviva Richman. Assault, Coercion and Consent in Jewish Law. Recorded live on January 23, 2018. In this turbulent moment of public attention to sexual assault and harassment, we will probe rabbinic sources that speak to our questions, fears and hopes. When approached with sensitivity and creativity, how can our tradition help us envision the meaning of leadership, the role of community and the importance of theology in confronting these realities? We will study legal source from the Bible that address the importance and complexity of defining sexual consent. What is the role of leadership and community in creating a "culture of consent?"

Aviva Richman. One of the fun parts of being a person is that you get to celebrate your birthday—the particular day you came into the world. This is not true for trees. Trees have a generic “birthday”—Tu Bishvat. A sapling becomes a year old at its first Tu Bishvat, two years old the following Tu Bishvat, etc. Why does it even matter how old a tree is? As R. Aviva Richman explains, in the Torah, it matters a lot.

Dena Weiss. Even before Benei Yisrael have left Egypt, the Torah imagines what it will be like for later generations to reflect on the importance of this once-in-history event. The Torah says that though the ritual of the pesah offering and the holiday will persist, its meaning will be lost on later generations. Children will ask their parents about the service, but the parents themselves will require guidance in how to respond.

In this lecture by R. Elie Kaunfer, we will open up the second blessing of the Amidah – said in all formal Jewish prayer services – to explore different possibilities of meaning. Which biblical and midrashic texts stand behind this blessing, and how can they open up our field of vision around this controversial prayer? Recorded live at the 7th annual Dr. Eddie Scharfman Memorial Lecture on January 10, 2018.

Dena Weiss. Over the course of the ten plagues, the Torah repeatedly informs us about the condition of Pharaoh’s heart, when it is reinforced or strengthened, and when it is hardened. The text also narrates how Pharaoh’s heart changes, and who is responsible for that change. Sometimes Pharaoh is credited with toughening himself, but sometimes the text attributes this strengthening and hardening to God. God’s taking responsibility in this way inspires the major commentaries to ask how God could have manipulated Pharaoh in this way. Isn’t He depriving Pharaoh of his free will by making him stubborn? And, if the reason why Pharaoh doesn’t free his Jewish slaves is that God has deprived him of his ability to emancipate Benei Yisrael, how is it fair for God to punish Pharaoh for not letting them go?

Dena Weiss. Even before he became Moshe Rabbeinu, our great teacher and leader, Moshe had a very impressive resume. Yet, it was difficult for Moshe himself to see. He doesn’t think of himself as a hero; he thinks of himself as inarticulate and unconvincing, as much more likely to fail than to succeed. Moshe can’t summon the confidence to accept this mantle of leadership and God doesn’t tell him why he has been chosen, why he is the man for the job. Why doesn’t God give Moshe the encouragement that he asks for and just neutralize the frustration on both sides?

Dena Weiss. As Ya’akov sees that the time has come, he summons his grandchildren and his sons to bless them and guide them before it is too late. Yet, the berakhot (blessings) that Ya’akov bestows on his three eldest sons are not particularly encouraging or uplifting. Instead of praising them and promising them bright futures, he uses this opportunity to rebuke them. Why does he beg heaven for the opportunity to bless them and then appear to do just the opposite?

Dena Weiss. After Yehudah finishes speaking, Yosef can no longer hold back his tears and discloses his true identity to his brothers. Why is this the specific moment when Yosef is overcome by his emotions? What is it about Yehudah’s speech that breaks through Yosef’s cold and distant veneer? Perhaps it was not the content of Yehudah’s speech, but the fact of it. Yosef is viscerally moved by Yehudah’s presence before him, by being spoken to so directly. This encounter between Yosef and his brothers underscores the power of proximity. The way that the conversation takes place between Yehudah and Yosef demonstrates the way that physical closeness can dismantle barriers between people and facilitate emotional closeness and reconciliation.

Dena Weiss. In the beginning of this week’s parashah, Pharaoh is dreaming. His dreams are frightening and disorienting, but Pharaoh knows better than to ignore them. He consults with his advisors but finds their interpretations wanting; his unrest is unresolved. When his royal butler hears of Pharoah’s distress, it reminds him of his own and the dream that he had when he was in prison. The butler remembers how Yosef, a fellow prisoner, was gifted in the interpretation of dreams and urges Pharaoh to consult him. Pharaoh finds in Yosef not only an interpreter for his dreams but an architect of his nation’s future.

Elie Kaunfer. We think of a miracle as a moment in time, a unique event in history. But Hanukkah teaches us that miracles are actually deeply ingrained patterns in the world, surfacing and re-surfacing throughout time.