One of the differences between the Hanukkah candles and the other significant candles in our religious practice, the Shabbat candles, is their location. While Shabbat candles are lit inside the house, in the private domain (or, the technical term: reshut ha-yahid), the Hanukkah lamps are ideally lit in the doorway that connects to the public domain (reshut ha-rabim). But what is the significance of this difference? What is the meaning of the liminal space of the doorway? And what spiritual message does the invitation to illuminate it contain?

One of the most dramatic turning points in Yosef’s life is his fall from a respected and powerful position in Potiphar’s house in Egypt to the status of a prisoner in jail. In the Rabbinic tradition, this moment is seen not merely as a downfall but as a moment of personal choice, a point at which Yosef chooses to invest in a future. He chooses active continuity rather than starting anew. Interestingly the character who represents this choice is one from his past: his father.

For generations our relationship with God has been mediated through texts written almost entirely by men. In these sessions, Rabbi Avi Killip explores a collection of midrashim, written by contemporary Israeli women writers, exploring images of God that are uniquely female oriented while being deeply rooted in the images and language of the Torah and classical midrash. “The Kiss of Death” is a breathtakingly beautiful midrash about the death of Miriam, that opens layers of unexpected metaphors for God. Recorded in Summer 2025.

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/KillipKissOfDeath2025.pdf

“Ya’akov was very afraid and distressed.” He takes many different precautions in order to avoid a violent reunion with his brother, with potentially severe consequences. At the same time, in our parashah Ya’akov receives a new name: Yisrael—a name he receives twice! The name, at its core, describes a person caught in conflict, and it is given to Ya’akov the first time in the midst of a struggle.

Are our primary responsibilities always to our own community? Or do Jews in the diaspora also have a religious obligation to contribute to the general social welfare - perhaps even to get involved in local politics? When Jews have political, social, or financial capital - how should we spend it? Rabbinic tradition offers no easy answers to these questions, but instead presents us with complex and nuanced attempts to balance universal ideals with practical communal concerns. Together we will review various approaches within this tradition - mishnaic, medieval, mystical and modern - and attempt to determine what it means to be both a member of the tribe and a citizen of the world. Recorded at the July Learning Seminar 2025.

Throughout Parashat VaYeitzei, almost from their very first encounter, Lavan and Ya’akov are locked in conflict. But there is a rare moment of encounter—though a fraught one—where the verses describe a desire to bridge: “Come, then, let us make a covenant, you and I” (Genesis 31:44). What emerges is a covenant of separation—a covenant in which much of the content is devoted to how the two will live apart, not together.

Participating in and belonging to a Jewish community is rightly considered to be central to living a full and meaningful Jewish life. However, sometimes being enmeshed in community can present a challenge to exploring and pursuing our own personal goals and interests, both religious and non-religious. In this class, we'll explore a passage of the Ma'or vaShemesh, from the great Hassidic master R' Kalonymos Kalman Epstein, wherein he explores and defines the limitations of being in community and when a person must leave their peers to pursue their own path. Recorded in July Learning Seminar, 2025.

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/JLS2025StrausbergIndependenceInterdependence.pdf

Our parashah offers an opportunity to encounter a typical human phenomenon—plurality —and contemplate its implications. Specifically it brings us to ask: how do Ya’akov, Esav, and their offspring live with each other, as “two” from the womb?