‘Serving God’ video lectures available online soon

Four lectures about Serving God in the Jewish tradition by leading scholars of Jewish studies from the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Israel, pluralistic Jewish learning and leadership training. Soon on the Shalom Hartman Institute website.

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Melilah Hellner-Eshed: Ways of remembering Sinai – Part 2

Shalom Hartman Institute Fellow and Scholar Melilah Hellner-Eshed talks about how to remember the event at Sinai in which the Jewish people received the Torah, and what is Jewish memory, the how the transmission of the collective Jewish memory was through ritual and reciting. This is the second in a series of three classes given to Jewish community leaders at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Israel

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Hamas war follow-up, looking ahead

Israel’s War on Hamas in Gaza seems to be over (for now), but there is still food for thought on the Hartman Institute website on the subject, with more (related) items to come.

Donniel Hartman’s follow-up to his powerful essay on the war’s morality, Fighting a just war against Hamas justly, the succinctly titled, Gaza War: We won, we left, now what?, is drawing almost as many comments as did his first two pieces on the war. I recommend that you go back and read the comments if you already have read the articles, and not to miss the comments if you haven’t read them yet. Not reading comments on websites such as ours these days is akin to missing the credits at the end of a movie; there is almost always something of value tucked in at the end for those with the patience to go through it all.

Read Gil Troy’s two essays on the subject of living in Israel during a war, and why Israel’s democratic instincts are the right ones:

• Gaza war shows Israel’s democratic resilience
• Why we are here in Israel (despite Gaza war)

Gil Troy is not a resident Hartman Institute scholar, but he is a scholar in his own right – he is a professor at McGill University in Montreal – an author of several books, a member of the Institute’s Canadian Friends of the Shalom Hartman Institute (known in-house as, “Cafshi”), and the proud father of a Hartman High School student.

In case you missed them, here are two strong pieces by Hartman scholars, each of which uses recent Torah portions as jumping off points for their commentary:

• Bill Berk: War on Hamas a time to stay close to one another and to our family in Israel
• Stuart Schoffman: Weapons of outrage

Click on the authors’ names to get a sense of who they are. There will be more about Bill Berk and the rabbis he works with in an upcoming post, as well.

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Learning about Abraham, the first Jew

From the opening of Hartman Institute Master Teacher, Prof. Noam Zion and Steve Israel’s curriculum, “The First Jew – A Journey Begun with a Fateful Choice“:

Abraham is rightly designated, according to the Bible, as “the pillar of the world”: “The term `rock’ was used figuratively to designate the root and principle of every thing. It is on this account that after saying: `Look unto the rock whence you were hewn,’ the Tanakh continues (Isaiah 51:1-2): `Look unto Abraham your father; and so on, giving, as it were, an interpretation according to which the rock whence you were hewn was Abraham your father. Tread therefore in his footsteps, adhere to his religion, and acquire his character” (Maimonides, Guide I.16, III.29)

Avraham - Learn about him at Shalom Hartman Institute

With Torah portion “Lech Lecha” coming up this Shabbat (Nov. 7), it seemed as good a time as any to study a little about Abraham. In this weekly reading, Abram is told to leave his homeland and start a nation dedicated to the one God. His name is changed to Abraham along the way.

Zion has now made a massive curriculum about Abraham available to all for free. It’s an amazing compilation of erudite learning, practical exercises for students, source material and much, much more. It is certainly worthwhile reading for everyone from beginners and casual students of Torah to scholars. Jewish high school and Talmud Torah teachers will find the material invaluable. Here are a few of the headings and titles:

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Donniel Hartman lecture on Genesis 18 and 22 (Pt. 2 of 2)

Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman, Co-Director, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem, Israel, talks about the different types of Jews in history and today as defined by the different approaches in Chapters 18 and 22 in the Book of Breishit, Genesis, in the Bible, in this video lecture (Part 2 of 2) for participants of the Christian Leadership Initiative of the Hartman Institute

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Donniel Hartman: Foundations of the Ethical and Moral in Judaism (Pt. 1 of 2)

Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem, Israel, talks about, “Who Determines the Good,” Abraham, Isaac, Genesis, Bereishit and different types of Jews and different views of Judaism stemming from Genesis 18 and 22 with Christian clerics from the Hartman Institute’s Christian Leadership Initiative.

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Noam Zion: Sarah, Hagar and Abraham

Noam Zion, Director, Tichom Program for North American Jewish Educators, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem, Israel, delivers a scorching lecture about the limitations and failings of the Jewish patriarch Abraham (Avraham) and the two women in his life, Sarah and Hagar to members of the Hartman Institute’s Lay Leadership Program in Jerusalem during Summer 2008

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