Hebrew College Koleinu: Purim, Spring Events & More

February 26, 2026 | 9 Adar 5786

Koleinu |our voice|

Reimagining Jewish learning and leadership for an interconnected world.

Parashat Tetzaveh | Candlelighting 5:13 PM EST

By Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, Hebrew College President

On my neighbor’s doorstep
I left a brown paper bag.
In it, I put two hamentaschen,
a clementine,
some chocolate pretzels,
and a small box of raisins.
To increase peace, love, and
friendship in the world,
obviously.
And then I walked away feeling lighter, unburdened,
the weight of endless obligation lifted
for a moment.

You are permitted
to give and then walk away.
There are limits.
You may close your door, your hand, your heart.
You can do all these things and you will.
You must, actually.
But you may not bless
The closed door.
You may not turn your back and say amen.

One of my favorite practices on Purim is the mitzvah of mishloach manot — delivering gifts of food to friends and neighbors. Rabbi David Hartman z”l relates this mitzvah to the fact that the Book of Esther, which we read on Purim, does not mention the name of God. Purim speaks to all those times and places in which it is difficult to discern the presence of the divine in our world. For Hartman, the obligations of Purim teach us that the religious response to the hiddenness of God is radical human responsibility. What do we do when we can’t see God’s face? We turn our faces toward each other; we take care of each other by delivering gifts of food to friends (mishloach manot) and by giving tzedakah to the poor (matanot la’evyonim).

Why don’t we say a blessing over the mitzvah of mishloach manot? According to the Seridei Esh, R. Yaakov Yechiel Weinberg, the mitzvah of mishloach manot is intended to increase peace, love and friendship in the world — and as such, it is a mitzvah t’midit — a perpetual mitzvah that is incumbent upon us at all times and has no break. It is a mitzvah we can never say we have fulfilled, a mitzvah over which we can never say amen.

TAMID OF HEBREW COLLEGE: YOUR HOME FOR ADULT LEARNING

Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir
A Conversation with Dr. Shulamit Reinharz

Tamid of Hebrew College will welcome Dr. Shulamit Reinharz on Thursday, March 19 for a special talk about her award-winning book, Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir, based on papers she discovered that her father, Rabbi Max Rothschild, had kept. Together, Max and Shulamit tell the story of a Jewish man who saved his life repeatedly during the Holocaust, from growing up in Germany, to becoming a Zionist, and being imprisoned in Buchenwald. Three years after fleeing to Holland, he went into hiding, saved by numerous Dutch Righteous Gentiles. The memoir describes Max's roller-coaster ride of danger and safety and the role that resistance played in his survival.

Learn more & RSVP

Dr. Shulamit Reinharz

MILLER CENTER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS LEARNING & LEADERSHIP

Rabbi Or Rose Speaks at Southern Lights Conference

Miller Center Founding Director Rabbi Or Rose spoke last month at Southern Lights, a conference co-founded by Miller Center collaborator Brian MacLaren dedicated to reimagining Christian faith in a changing world. "I am deeply grateful to the organizers of the Conference for the invitation to teach at this soulful Christian gathering in Georgia," says Rabbi Rose. "In opening my presentation on the life and work of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (d.1972), I invited the attendants to join me in singing the well-known Hasidic song Gesher Tzar Me’od (‘The whole world is a very narrow bridge’), based on a teaching from Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (d. 1810). I paired the song with a statement from a contemporary Muslim colleague and friend, Dr. Eboo Patel (president and founder of Interfaith America), who reminds audiences that ‘bridges do not fall from the sky’; we must build them together."

Rabbi Rose (middle)
Listen to Rabbi Rose sing part of Gesher Tzar Me'od

Kavanah in 60: Purim

Kavanah in 60 is Hebrew College's digital series of “short teachings” (~60 seconds) by our rabbinical students coinciding with Jewish and secular holidays.

"Mordechai delivers a rousing speech to Queen Esther trying to convince her to save the Jewish people. And the way he does this is not at all what you might expect. I would have expected in a kind of superhero tone, "If you don't do this, no one will. You were made for this moment." Yet Mordechai says the opposite. He says, "If you keep silent in this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, while you and your father's house will perish." If you don't do it, somebody else will. "Perhaps you have obtained a royal position for just this moment..." Mordecahi is saying no excuse whatsoever. It is precisely in these moments that we act..."

Watch Carrie's full kavanah...

Watch more kavanot in 60

SEVENTY FACES OF TORAH

By Rabbi Shira Shazeer`10, MJEd `22, Instructor at Gann Academy

The mishkan of Parashat Tetzaveh and Haman of the Megillah were tangible embodiments of connection and meaning, on one hand, and targeted destruction on the other. Over time, however, as the Jews became a diverse and dispersed people over the course of millennia, our meaning-making has become less tangible and more symbolic. After the destruction of the second temple, our rabbis reimagined Judaism so that rather than carrying a physical dwelling place for God, we bring along our texts and traditions. In place of sacrifices and priests, we turn to stories, memory and study, along with sacred times for gathering, home-based rituals and reenactments. In the holiday cycle that leads from the masking and unmasking of Purim, to the humble liberation of Passover, to the spiritual high of revelation at Shavuot, these tools of memory and gathering are our means to pursue the missions set for us in our Torah readings this week.

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Hebrew College Spring Gala 2026

May 14 | Hebrew College
6:30 PM Dinner, Program, and Dessert Reception

L'Dor Vador Award: Honoring Intergenerational Learning and Leadership
Helene, Seth, and Benjamin Gelber

Betzalel Award: Honoring Leadership in Arts and Culture
Joshua Meyer

Esther Award: Honoring Courageous Women's Leadership
Terry Rosenberg

Watch for your invitation. Corporate sponsorships available.

NEW! BOOK TALK

A Nu Reads Conversation with Tova Mirvis & Allegra Goodman

Tuesday, March 10 | 7-8:30 PM | Hummingbird Books, Newton

Celebrate the release of Allegra Goodman’s new novel, This Is Not About Us. Boston natives Mirvis and Goodman will discuss the craft of storytelling and the ways Jewish identity, tradition, faith, and cultural inheritance shape their work. Co-sponsored by Hebrew College, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Jewish Community Day School and the Vilna Shul. (Nu Reads is Jewish Book Council’s new bi-monthly book subscription.)

Learn more & RSVP

NEW! TAMID OF HEBREW COLLEGE

GROW March: Kabbalah and the Counting of the Omer

Wednesday, March 11 | 12-1 PM | Zoom

Join us online for our next Tamid of Hebrew College free GROW program with Rabbi Matthew Ponak `20, MJEd `20, who will present “From Harvest to Healing: Kabbalah and the Counting of the Omer.”

Learn more & RSVP

NEW! MILLER CENTER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS LEARNING & LEADERSHIP

Experiencing God: 36 Ways According to Saint Francis of Assisi

Thursday, March 12 | 7-8:30 PM | Hebrew College

The Miller Center welcomes Jon M. Sweeney, a Roman Catholic married to a Reconstructionist rabbi, to discuss his new book, Experiencing God: Thirty-six Ways According to Saint Francis of Assisi. He will be joined by the Miller Center's Rabbi Or Rose and Karen Kiefer from The Church in the 21st Century Center.

Learn more & RSVP

SOUL SOUNDS

Kedmah: Lecture & Concert

Sunday, March 15 | 6:30-9:30 PM | Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge, MA

Hebrew College Soul Sounds is excited to join Hadar Boston and Base Boston to co-sponsor a concert and pre-concert lecture with Kedmah.

Learn more & RSVP

NEW! SHARED CAMPUS PARTNERS
Hello Headcoverings? An Exploratory Discussion on Jewish Headcovering and Gender
Tuesday, March 17 | 6-7:15 PM | Lehrhaus, Somerville, MA
Sponsored by Collaborative Campus Partner Mayyim Hayyim
Inspired by campus partner Jewish Studio Project's Jewish Studio Process, study texts about headcovering and gender and engage in reflective art-making with Hebrew College rabbinical student and Mayyim Hayyim intern Yael Marans.
Learn more & RSVP

TAMID OF HEBREW COLLEGE

Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir - A Conversation with Dr. Shulamit Reinharz

Thursday, March 19 | 7-8:30 PM | Hebrew College

Join us for a free talk with Dr. Shulamit Reinharz about her book, Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir, penned with her father Max Rothschild. Together, they tell the story of a Jewish man who saved Max's life repeatedly during the Holocaust.

Learn more & RSVP

NEW! SHARED CAMPUS PARTNERS
The Manner of Women: A Literary Look at Menstruation and Niddah in Classic Jewish Sources
Tuesday, March 24 | 6-7:15 PM | Lehrhaus, Somerville, MA
Sponsored by Collaborative Campus Partner Mayyim Hayyim
Sivan Piatigorsky-Roth, Hebrew College rabbinical student and Mayyim Hayyim rabbinic intern, and Jewish educator Aki Yonekawai will share stories from Tanakh and Talmud that feature menstruation and mikveh immersion.
Learn more & RSVP

ART EXHIBIT

A Journey of Wonder: A Visual Dance with the Hebrew Holiday Calendar

Sunday, March 29 | 5-7 PM | Hebrew College

Join us for the opening of our spring art exhibit with works by artist Deborah Feinstein, chair of the Hebrew College Arts Committee and a trustee of the college. Featuring paintings that celebrate and correspond with the Jewish calendar cycle, inspired by medieval illuminated manuscripts.

Learn more & RSVP

NEW! TAMID OF HEBREW COLLEGE

GROW May: Building Moral Courage in a Fragile Democracy

Wednesday, May 13 | 12-1 PM | Zoom

Join us online when Jody Kipnis, co-founder, President & CEO of the Holocaust Legacy Foundation, will speak about how democracies erode, how dehumanization takes root, and how ordinary individuals develop the moral courage to speak up.

Learn more & RSVP

Sacred Sparks! Hebrew College Spring Gala 2026

Thursday, May 14 | 6:30 PM Dinner, Program, and Dessert Reception | Hebrew College

Join us to celebrate our three award recipients: Helene, Seth, and Benjamin Gelber; Joshua Meyer; and Terry Rosenberg.

Learn more & RSVP

Visit our Giving Page to send tributes, recognize yahrzeits, and support Hebrew College's mission to make our lives more meaningful, our communities more vibrant, and our world more whole. Your gift of any amount will make a real difference.

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