ROSH CHODESH & PARASHAT TERUMAH 

The Mishkan and Purim’s Insights for an Uncertain World

By Rabbi Daniel Klein, Dean of the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College

With Rosh Chodesh Adar this Friday and Saturday and the beginning of our preparations for Purim, we are invited into Shushan and the realm of Ahasuerus. In this world, there is no solid ground, and anything can happen — queens can be deposed, commoners can become royalty, lotteries seem to dictate destiny. One of the central verses, when Esther and Mordechai are discussing her role as queen in this scary and chaotic world, begins, mi yodea? Who knows? (Esther 4:14). It may well be, Mordechai says to her, that she has become queen precisely to deal with this situation, but who can say? Purim is a scary world of not knowing, where God is not present in a revealed form, and yet we need to live and take action.

What are the responses to such circumstances? In a mixed-up world where we too may get turned around, the mitzvot of Purim offer us guidance:

Read Megillat Esther and tell this story together.
Send mishloach manot, food gifts to each other.
Give matanot lievyonim, charity to the needy.
Have a festive meal.

The faith coursing through Purim that cannot be shaken by our encounter with the chaos is in each other. We find the comforting stability of God’s presence in our commitment to care for and be in community with other people.

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Lessons Learned from Teaching a Class for Parents Struggling with Their Children’s Stance on Israel 

By Rabbi Dan Judson, Hebrew College Provost

Tamid of Hebrew College Adult Learning offered an unusual class last semester. With all of the turmoil within the American Jewish community over Israel since October 7, 2023, one of the most disheartening aspects has been families riven internally along the same intergenerational divide that we are also witnessing playout in the public square. A board member had suggested to the president of Hebrew College that there were many parents who were struggling with their children’s position on Israel who might find it meaningful to come together to learn and process with their peers. What if the College offered such an opportunity?

We hoped that in some small way, an adult learning class could help heal these rifts. We envisioned the learning as part discussion group, part group therapy, and part Zionist history. The class description clearly struck a chord as it sold out quickly. (We capped it at 18 people to allow for conversation). And we are holding a spring version which has similarly been filled.

The parents taking the class all fit a similar pattern. They all were committed to Zionism as a central part of their lives. They deeply believed that Israel was a necessary safe haven for the Jewish people, and the rise in antisemitism in America confirmed that core understanding. Although we did not specify any particular ages when we advertised the class, almost everyone was there to discuss a child who was between 25-30, so the “children” in question were all young adults.

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LEARN MORE ON HEBREW COLLEGE'S SPEAKING TORAH PODCAST

"My hope is that if we can think together critically about Israel — that looking at it through a bit of an academic lens will allow people some potentially less emotional space to be able to have a conversation, to be able to think for themselves, and then potentially to have a conversation with their child, because it’s incredibly fraught."

— Rabbi Dan Judson. Learn more by listening to Rabbi Judson on Speaking Torah, Episode 21: "Navigating the Israel Conversation with the Next Generation."

JOIN US ON MAY 1, 2025

Hebrew College Spring Gala & Award Recipients

On Thursday, May 1st, Hebrew College's 2025 Spring Gala, “Braiding Hope”, will honor the creativity and resilience of our community, celebrating the possibilities that emerge when we weave our diverse experiences and perspectives into a shared fabric of compassion, curiosity, responsibility, and respect. Students, leaders, alumni, supporters, and friends will come together on our shared campus in Newton to recognize the dedication and passion that transform our home into a vibrant communal hub of Jewish learning, leadership, and innovation.

In addition to an evening of music, learning, noshing, and sipping, we will celebrate the award recipients who will be honored at this year’s gala. Dr. Judith Rosenbaum, CEO of Jewish Women’s Archive, will receive the annual Esther Award for courageous women’s leadership. Denise Sobel, Chair of the Clark Art Institute Board of Trustees, will receive the Betzalel Award for leadership in arts and culture. Ted Teplow z’’l, former Hebrew College Trustee and Board Chair, and the Teplow family will receive the L’dor Vador Award, honoring intergenerational learning and leadership. And Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl of Central Synagogue in New York will receive the inaugural Rabbi David Ellenson Memorial Award honoring leadership in pluralism and ahavat yisrael.

Together, these honorees represent Hebrew College’s commitment to building an interconnected world, braiding their conviction, creativity, and compassion into an enduring legacy of hope. Watch for your invitation in March.

Hebrew College is reimagining Jewish learning and leadership for an interconnected world, making our lives more meaningful, our communities more vibrant, and our world more whole.