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Rosh Hodesh Av | ראש חודש אב
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Welcoming the Month of Av
As we welcome the new Hebrew month of Av, we invite you to read, listen, and share the words of Torah in this newsletter—bringing your lives to Torah and Torah to your lives. We again thank Nireh Or Instagram Project founders Rabbi Hayley Goldstein`19 and Lizzie Sivitz for their words and artwork.
Av is the month in which we mourn the destruction of the first and second Temples.
Thus we learn in Mishna Taanit, משנכנס אב ממעטין בשמחה
When the month of Av begins, we decrease in joy.
The Munkatcher Rebbe, in 20th century Poland, interpreted the Mishna in a unique way: “When the month of Av begins, we decrease with joy.” Perhaps meaning that when the month of Av enters, we decrease our joy, while also holding excitement and hope for better days ahead. Rather than being all-consumed by our sorrow which leads to despair, we can utilize our sorrow to motivate us to work towards redemption. In a time of profound brokenness, how can we lean into our mourning, while also holding that days of joy are ahead?
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Vows that Divide
Parashat Mattot-Massei (Numbers 30:2-36:13)
By Rabbi Avi Killip `14, Vice President of Strategy and Programs at Hadar
The first time I made a vow, I surprised myself. I was angry that my hometown baseball team moved to a new stadium in a different neighborhood and I declared—with great indignation—that I would never set foot in the new stadium! Less than a year later, I went to the stadium.
Was this the first time I made a vow? Probably not. I must have made similar declarations before, usually from a place of frustration or a feeling of righteousness. And I likely broke many of those commitments, too . . .
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Why We Say "70 Faces of Torah"
The ancient rabbinic expression “70 Faces (or Facets) of Torah” is a simultaneous call for epistemological humility and interpretive creativity. It is a reminder that only the Divine possesses ultimate truth and that as finite seekers, we need the contributions of many distinct voices. Torah can be compared to a precious gem that refracts differently based on one’s perspective. We, must, therefore, “turn it and turn it” in the company of passionate and compassionate teachers, students, and peers, who each bring their own unique gifts—“faces”—to the ongoing search for light and life.
By Rabbi Or Rose (above), Director of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership at Hebrew College & Founding Editor of the Hebrew College Seventy Faces of Torah blog
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COMING IN AUGUST!
Speaking Torah Podcast Season 3
Climate change, racial justice, and resilience are some of the topics we explore in Season 3 of Hebrew College's podcast "Speaking Torah." The new season will be released in August on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or whereever you get your podcasts. Watch for these episodes:- Challenging Destruction: We Speak Up Despite the Odds
Featuring Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman `14, Hebrew College Director of Professional Development, and Bill McKibben, climate activist and founder of 350.org.
- Thank You Dean Thurman: Remembering An American Spiritual Master
Featuring Rabbi Or Rose, Director of the Miller Center for Interreligious Leadership & Learning at Hebrew College, and Dr. Shively Smith, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Boston University School of Theology.
- When the Walls of Metaphor Can't Hold
Featuring Rabbi Jordan Braunig `14, Jewish Chaplain at Emory University, and Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, President of Hebrew College.
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Torah For This Moment
We invite you to visit our On Torah page to read, watch, and listen to the words of Torah on holidays, music, social justice, spirituality, and more that are emerging from our students, faculty, and alumni. We hope they inspire you to draw more deeply on the well of Torah in your own life.
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Hebrew College is an innovative national institute for Jewish learning and leadership based in Newton, Massachusetts. We are dedicated to Jewish literacy, creativity, and community, and a world of dignity and compassion for all. Our students are future rabbis, cantors, and educators, and people at every stage of life who love to learn. Together, we are infusing Jewish life with substance, spirit, beauty, imagination, and a sense of purpose. Please join us and support our work with a tax-deductible gift.
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