R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Ki Teitzei: Three Contemporary Readings of the Rebellious Son
One of the most emotionally charged and provocative legal passages is found in our parashah : the case of the rebellious son.
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R. Dena Weiss: Language As a Lens Part 1
Explore the role that language plays in our personal, religious, and spiritual lives, by challenging assumptions about core areas of speech like prayer (is it supposed to be effective?) gossip (is it really bad?), and telling the truth (is it necessary?). Recorded in Summer 2026. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/WeissLanguageLensPart12026.pdf
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Shoftim: The Torah of Military Service
The preoccupation with the question of who goes to war is not new. It is a question that meets us, Israeli society, in our day-to-day lives. There is an acute sense here of exhaustion of military forces, alongside awareness of the high price that those who serve and their families pay, accompanied by political tension surrounding the issue of military service, all of which grow day by day—and even…
R. Elazar Symon on Rosh Hodesh Elul: A Different Kind of Comfort
The month of Elul marks the beginning of a process that leads us toward the Yamim Noraim , the days of awe. Yet in another sense, even at the beginning of Elul, we are already mid-process. Going back to at least medieval France, the sequence of haftarot we read in the synagogue on Shabbat from the 17th of Tammuz until Yom Kippur were understood as representing a long process split into three…
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Re'eih: The Dangers of Incitement
In Parashat Re’eih, the Torah warns against a uniquely insidious threat: the mesit or inciter. In Hebrew, this act of enticing or manipulating another person toward harm is known as hasatah , “incitement.” The discourse of incitement is one of the most central and sensitive topics in social and political interaction in Israel. The term hasatah is used by the Israeli public both as a formal legal…
R. Tali Adler: What Are You Doing Here, Elijah?
This class explores the powerful stories of the prophet Elijah, asking what they reveal about prophecy, leadership, and religious zeal. As Elijah performs miracles and confronts the people of Israel, the narrative raises difficult questions about certainty and compassion. Recorded at Hadar's Tanakh Intensive, Winter 2026.
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Eikev: Memory and the Divine-Human Partnership
Two intertwined themes are explored in Parashat Eikev: memory and human agency. What is the connection between these ideas? And how do they work together in our brit , our partnership with God?
R. Shai Held: Hope After Hope Is Lost
How might we maintain hope during a time when it seems to many of us that all hope is gone? One biblical idea is that, although God is frequently disappointed, God also refuses to give up. (What) can we learn from that? This class turns to Tanakh, to midrash , and to medieval Jewish thought to help think more deeply about hope and hopelessness—and about what we can hold onto in dark times.…
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Va'Ethanan: Law After War
Our parashah describes a deeply charged moment—a moment where the Israelites are at risk of forgetting the Holy Blessed One. Surprisingly, this danger does not stem from lack or deprivation, but rather from a reality of abundance and tranquility that awaits them after conquering the Land.
R. Elazar Symon on Tisha B'Av: Wood and Stone
At least in the plain sense of Lamentations 4, the destruction of Jerusalem is not presented as the execution of a carefully designed plan. It is a moment of unleashed fury.