Mechon Hadar Online Learning

בחנוכה מציינים אנו שני מרחבי ייחוד ונבדלות: בית ולאום. שני מרחבים פרטיקולריים אלו מהווים בסיס זהותי לפרטים כמו גם לקבוצות של אנשים. הם מהווים בסיס להיקשרות, מסמנים מי נכלל בהם וגם מי מודר מהם. הם נושאים בחובם מטען של ייחוד ואף של בדלנות. טקסי החנוכה והנרטיבים המלווים אותם שולחים מסר של בכורה לשני מרחבים פרטיקולריים אלו – הבית והלאום. אולם, המסורת התלמודית בדרכה העדינה והחדה גם מבקרת את שניהם, באמצעות השיח אודות נר החנוכה.

Dena Weiss.After his brothers sell Yosef, they smear his special coat with blood and bring it to their father. When Ya’akov is presented with the bloody coat, he appears to reach the conclusion that his sons are leading him toward, that Yosef has been killed. However, Rabbinic sources teach us that in his heart of hearts, Ya’akov knew that Yosef was still alive. Ya’akov’s subconscious awareness of his son speaks deeply to what it means to be alive and present in the mind and heart of another. Similarly, though Yosef is far away in Egypt, sold and abandoned by his brothers, he does not forget his father and lives his life accompanied by his father’s image. Yosef’s holding on to his father in this way demonstrates how powerful even the imagined presence of another person can be. Not only does this presence have emotional impact, it can also play a critical role in developing and nurturing one’s religious integrity.

Avital Hochstein. Or: The Hanukkah Candles’ Criticism of Particularism and Universalism - On Hanukkah we mark two spheres of uniqueness and separateness: home and nation. These two particularistic spaces form a basis for identities of both individuals and groups of people. They provide a starting point for connection, and, generally speaking, mark boundaries that project on those included and on those excluded from the space delineated by them. They carry the weight, not only of uniqueness, but also of separatism. The rituals of Hanukkah and the narratives that accompany them send a message of precedence to these two particularistic spaces—the home and the nation. The Talmudic tradition, however, in its gentle and incisive manner, also critiques both through the medium of its discourse on the Hanukkah candles.

Dena Weiss. Parashat VaYishlach opens with Ya’akov’s preparing to reunite with his brother. Ya’akov does not know what to expect, and he prepares for the worst. Before he confronts Esav himself, he sends messengers, malakhim, with gifts in order to make Esav’s disposition more favorable towards him. The term malakhim is unclear. On the one hand, malakhim could simply refer to human messengers, to men who travelled with Ya’akov and his family. However, “malakhim” is also how the Torah refers to angels, the emissaries of God. Who or what were these angels?

Dena Weiss. When we meet our foremothers, Leah and Rachel, we immediately learn about their appearance. The verses tell us specifically that Rachel was beautiful and Leah, less so. What motivates these verses and descriptions? Why does the Torah need to testify to how unattractive Leah is? The answer helps teach us a crucial lesson about Leah and through her story, about the nature of lashon ha-ra, of harmful speech, itself.

Ethan Tucker. Fall Lecture Series, Part 5: Building off of everything we have learned, how do we proceed? Is the category of the ger toshav useful or fruitful in thinking about Gentiles living in the Jewish state of Israel? Can it point us to a set of baseline commitments we make to resident aliens and non-citizens more generally in the United States? We will use this final session to carve out some possible models for tackling these thorny questions.

Dena Weiss. According to Rabbinic tradition, the first people who kept and studied the Torah were not the Jewish people after the revelation at Sinai. Even our earliest ancestors were described as being engaged with the Torah and, in fact, following the Torah. According to this tradition, Avraham actually observed the Torah’s observances, commandments, laws, and teachings. Ya’akov, his grandson, is seen as having studied the Torah and as having kept its commandments as well. Is this just a retrojection of Rabbinic mores onto our biblical forebears? Why imagine that our forefathers kept or studied a Torah that—according to the text of the Torah—we know wasn’t given yet? The answer to this question can illuminate what it means to be a student of the Torah and a servant of God. It can enable us to understand what it means to be in a relationship with God that is defined not by what God demands, but by what we want to offer.

Ethan Tucker. Fall Lecture Series, Part 4: In week four, we will look at rabbinic texts that divide between Jews and Gentiles of all sorts, including the ger toshav. When is it appropriate to treat citizens and non-citizens differently? We will look at issues of power, authority, jurisprudence and marriage, among others.

Dena Weiss. Eliezer, the servant of Avraham, is the Torah’s first and maybe best, human matchmaker. After Sarah dies, Avraham feels compelled to set his house in order and find a wife for their son Yitzchak. Eliezer is the man chosen for the job. Eliezer is no ordinary servant and no ordinary shadkhan. He sets his own course in finding a match for his young master and the choices that he makes in achieving this mission teach us how to succeed in two dimensions of being in relationship. He teaches us how to be both lovingly responsible and responsibly loving.

Ethan Tucker. Fall Lecture Series, Part 3: In week three, we will survey rabbinic texts that emphasize times and places where the Gentile/Jewish boundary is dissolved. Specifically, in what areas of law and practice is a ger toshav treated identically to a Jew? Put another way, when does the rabbinic tradition say that essence and status are incidental and residency or behavior are all that matter? When are rights independent of political power? We will look at issues of civil law application and various forms of religious participation, among others.

Dena Weiss. The most vexing and terrifying element of the story of Akeidat Yitzhak, the Binding of Isaac, is not the moral question of whether Avraham sacrificed his ethics in his willingness to sacrifice his son. It is also not the question of whether God could, or even did, demand that sacrifice. What is so completely inscrutable and horrifying about this request (or test) is Avraham’s emotional response to it. The lack thereof. Avraham barely reacts at all.

Ethan Tucker. Fall Lecture Series, Part 2: Having seen the Biblical material in depth, we will now look at how Rabbinic sources attempt to resolve inconsistencies in the Biblical treatment of the ger. Along the way, the Rabbis create two types of gerim and two types of outsiders who can enter into the Jewish community—the ger toshav (a non-Jewish resident in Jewish communities) and the ger tzedek, the righteous convert who begins a Gentile and becomes a Jew.

Dena Weiss. Listen Like Someone is Praying - Prayer can seem pointless. What exactly are we informing an omniscient God of? And what for? If God knows us, knows what we have and what we lack then what are we doing when we speak to God about our suffering and articulate our wants and needs? In Parashat Lekh Lekha, God challenges Avraham, but also blesses him in innumerable ways. Through reading God’s blessing closely, we can gain significant insight into what it means to be in communication with the Divine, both in asking God for what we lack and in thanking God for what we have.

Elie Kaunfer explores the literary appraoch to Jewish liturgy using the case study of the first paragraph of the Amidah, including its connection to Parashat Lekh Lekha, which read this week. Our prayers quote or reference biblical sources all the time. By comparing the text of the prayer to the sources it draws from, you can unlock new meanings for the prayer book. Why do we say "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? Wouldn't it be more efficient to say "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob"? Why do we call God "great, mighty, and awesome"? Why not more adjectives? Why those? What do they mean? These questions and more will be explored in this online shiur.

Ethan Tucker. Fall Lecture Series, Part 1: In this session we will look at the biblical category of the ger—often defined as the stranger or resident alien. What is this person’s place in the community of Biblical Israel? What are the ger’s privileges and responsibilities? In what ways are they a part of and not a part of the people of Israel?