WELCOMING TISHREI

A Rosh Hashana Message from Dean Rabbi Justin David 

The other day, I had the pleasure of a conversation with our teacher, Dr. Nehemia Polen. He knows how much I love hasidic texts (as I do all the learning at Hebrew College), so he stopped by my office to share a rich and beautiful teaching we would enjoy exploring together.

It was a teaching on Rosh Hashana by Kalonymus Kalman Epstein, the great hasidic teacher and author of the classic Ma’or va-Shemesh, published in Krakow in the early 19th C. Filled with dense kabbalistic imagery, the central idea of the teaching is that through Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we change our relationship to the world of contradiction to facilitate the fruition of the world. Judgment and mercy, harshness and compassion, pain and repair, anger and kindness, are all a part of our inner landscape.

The Book of Psalms: Calling Out from the Depths

A new interreligious website resource on the Psalms: Psalm 27

Just in time for the High Holidays, the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College is excited to present Calling Out from the Depths, a unique collection of contemporary interreligious reflections on the Book of Psalms. Here is a preview from our lesson on Psalm 27, which plays a major role in the High Holidays liturgy.  

“The tension between the two halves of Psalm 27 has led some scholars to question the psalm’s unity; maybe, they represent two distinct psalms and were not meant to be read together. Although this possibility cannot be ruled out, the prevalence and impact of Psalm 27 within Jewish and Christian traditions suggest the tension at its core is, in fact, what makes the psalm relatable and powerful.” — Dr. Andrew Davis, Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

Explore the new site... 

HIGH HOLIDAYS 5784

Where Hebrew College Alumni, Faculty, and Students are Serving as Spiritual Leaders 

Hebrew College alumni, students, and faculty are once again leading High Holiday services across the United States and world—including 27 states, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Israel. We are proud to see them bringing Torah, music, commentary, and creativity to a wide range of Jewish communities, from Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and pluralistic shuls and minyans to newer BASE Movement (in Boston, San Francisco, Ann Arbor, Chicago, New York City), Gather cities (Washington, DC and San Francisco) and senior living communities.

See where our alumni, students, and faculty are serving...

Kavanah for Rosh Hashana

By Sarah Pollack, Hebrew College Rabbinical Student

As we inch closer and closer to the New Year, we’re called to use this month to do a spiritual scan. What are the relationships that I didn’t tend to and would benefit from an apology?

A framework that I return to when thinking about apologies comes from the Alter Rebbe in the Tanya. He writes that we are all connected to the Divine with a string and when we err, the string is severed. And then we have to choose if we want to repair the string or we want to float away.

Watch Sarah's full teaching...

Visit our Kavanah in 60 page for more kavanot from our rabbinical students.