Best Hadar Institute Podcasts (2025)

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R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Toldot: Rivalry or Relationship? 7:50

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14h ago7:50

7:50

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?By Hadar Institute

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R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 3 20:22

2h ago20:22

20:22

Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, also known as the Alei Shur, offers a powerful and inspiring — but often demanding — vision for what it takes to become a better human being. Before we can do any act of repentance, of teshuvah — we must first learn how to change and how to grow. Recorded in Summer 2025. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.c…

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R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Hayyei Sarah: Rivkah’s Blessing 8:36

6d ago8:36

8:36

Rivkah receives a blessing from her family members before she sets out on her journey to marry Yitzhak: “O sister! May you grow into thousands of myriads; may your descendants inherit the gates of their foes” (Genesis 24:60).By Hadar Institute

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R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 2 18:10

8d ago18:10

18:10

Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, also known as the Alei Shur, offers a powerful and inspiring — but often demanding — vision for what it takes to become a better human being. Before we can do any act of repentance, of teshuvah — we must first learn how to change and how to grow. Recorded in Summer 2025. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.c…

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R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Vayera: The Righteous With the Wicked 8:56

15d ago8:56

8:56

In this week’s parashah, Avraham argues with God over the divine decision to destroy Sodom completely. Avraham and God agree that Sodom is wicked and that terrible things happen there. So what, then, is the basis for Avraham’s plea? Why does he resist God’s plan to punish and overturn Sodom? What are Avraham’s arguments as he tries to stop the city…

1
R. Aviva Richman: Why Talmud is the Bedrock of My Faith 45:54

3d ago45:54

45:54

The Talmud has often been subject to misrepresentation—viewed as esoteric or overly complex—yet it holds profound power as a centerpiece of Jewish tradition. How can Talmud and Talmud study anchor an approach to Judaism that speaks to the challenges and dangers of our moment? How can its embrace of complexity, argument, and multivocality offer a mo…

1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Lekh Lekha: Walking, Tradition, and Renewal 11:14

9d ago11:14

11:14

Abraham is “our father” in many senses. He is seen as the father of the Jewish people, the spiritual father of Judaism and of monotheistic faiths more broadly, and the father of the covenant with the one God. Yet in our parashah, Abraham is introduced first and foremost as a son, a descendant who must decide whether to be traditional or innovative—…

1
R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 1 21:48

19d ago21:48

21:48

Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, also known as the Alei Shur, offers a powerful and inspiring — but often demanding — vision for what it takes to become a better human being. Before we can do any act of repentance, of teshuvah — we must first learn how to change and how to grow. Recorded in Summer 2025. Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.c…

1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Noah: "In His Generation" 13:16

24d ago13:16

13:16

Parashat Noah invites us to reflect on the relationship between society and the individual. The introduction of its main character raises a central question: What is our role when we live within a corrupt society? How should we conduct ourselves when leaders are not guided by the values we hold dear, and when many individuals disagree with us about…

1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Bereishit: What If Adam Had Reacted Differently? 10:44

1M ago10:44

10:44

Two children are fighting in the playground. Called into the principal’s office, each insists: “It all started when he hit me back.” This familiar joke captures something deeply human: our tendency to avoid responsibility by blaming others.

1
R. Tali Adler on VeZot HaBerakhah: On Endings and Beginnings 7:57

1M ago7:57

7:57

The draw of theatre in the age of movies is that each experience is unique. While the script's words and stage directions remain the same night after night, the unique alchemy of the actors and audience gathered in that particular configuration at that particular moment in time, does not. When we linger in our seats after the final encore, delaying…

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Ha'azinu: Living in Between 9:42

2M ago9:42

9:42

Homeless in life, Moshe is fated to remain without a home even in death. That, perhaps, is the most difficult part of God’s decree: not that Moshe must die, a fate that all human beings share. Not that he must die outside of the land: Ya’akov and Yosef also died far from Israel. What is most difficult about Moshe’s death is that, even in death, he …

1
Dreaming of the Messiah: What Can We Learn from Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook? 39:23

2M ago39:23

39:23

Was Rabbi Kook a mystic, a radical, or a realist? And what did he really believe about redemption? In this season finale, Rabbi Shai Held is joined by Professor Yehudah Mirsky to unpack the bold and complex messianic vision of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and the ways in which this vision still reverberates today. Together, they explore Kook’s hopes fo…

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Vayeilekh: Recreating Sinai 8:40

2M ago8:40

8:40

The generation that will enter the Land of Israel never heard God’s voice at Sinai. They never experienced the earth shattering voice, the terror, the awe. In place of memory, all they have is a story.By Hadar Institute

1
Is Torah Study the Highest Value? 42:55

2M ago42:55

42:55

Is studying Torah really the most important thing a Jew can do? Or is that just something rabbis say—because they're the ones doing the studying? In this episode, Rabbi Shai Held talks with Rabbanit Devorah Zlochower about the value and limits of Talmud Torah. Together, they wrestle with classic rabbinic sources, the meaning of learning as a spirit…

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Nitzavim: The Long Goodbye 5:36

2M ago5:36

5:36

When Moshe gathers the generation of the desert together to enter them into the covenant once again, he knows that it is his last chance to teach the people how to live according to the Torah—and, crucially, how to live without him.By Hadar Institute

1
R. Tali Adler: When Teshuvah Is or Should Be Impossible 42:10

2M ago42:10

42:10

Are some things unforgivable? Is Teshuvah always an option? What would it mean if the road to repentance were blocked? In this class we will explore questions of whether we ever lose the opportunity to do Teshuvah and what it might look like to repent from a place where we are unsure of the possibility of forgiveness. Recorded in Elul 2023. Source …

1
Judaism and the Heart 38:17

2M ago38:17

38:17

Is lighting candles, giving tzedakah, or saying a prayer enough if your heart’s not in it? Rabbis Shai Held and Josh Feigelson sit down to explore what it means to live a heart-centered Jewish life—and why it matters more than we often think. Together, they reflect on the perceived split between "the duties of the limbs" and "the duties of the hear…

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Ki Tavo: No Final Chapter 7:00

2M ago7:00

7:00

We’ve made it. That seems to be the promise of bikkurim, the first fruits gift to God.By Hadar Institute

1
R. Dena Weiss: The Mechanics of Mercy: How Does Forgiveness Actually Work? 1:00:14

2M ago1:00:14

1:00:14

The liturgy of the High Holiday season is replete with promises about God's forgiveness but is less specific about how God forgives. In her lecture, R. Dena Weiss explores how forgiveness works, and asks if there are any strategies that we can adopt to make us more forgivable and forgiving. This lecture was delivered in memory of Rabbi Jonathan D. …

1
Where is God? Lessons from the Book of Ruth 41:58

3M ago41:58

41:58

What does it mean to embody God’s love in a world where God sometimes feels absent? In this episode, Rabbi Shai Held is joined by Christian biblical scholars Dr. Judy Fentress-Williams and Dr. Ellen Davis to explore what the Book of Ruth reveals—not just about loyalty and love, but about God’s subtle presence in human lives. Together, they ask: Wha…

1
R. Tali Adler on Ki Teitzei: Living in the Double Exposure 7:02

3M ago7:02

7:02

I was eight years old in Basel, Switzerland the day I learned about the way places have layers. It was a chilly, autumn shabbos, and my father and I were on a walk by the river. My father pointed out different sights as we walked: there is the house where his elementary school friend lived. There is the gate they walked through to get to school, th…

1
R. Shai Held: Biblical Theology in a Time of Climate Emergency Part 3 34:46

3M ago34:46

34:46

What can the Bible teach us about navigating our way through a time of climate emergency? In this series, R. Shai Held explores three key biblical texts that offer differing (but perhaps complementary) approaches to understanding our place in this divinely created and much-more-than-human world. Recorded in Winter 2025. Source sheet: https://mechon…

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Shoftim: Even So 7:30

3M ago7:30

7:30

What do you do when you feel—or when you know—that because of your actions, you are entirely alone in the world?By Hadar Institute

1
Questions That Can't be Answered: The Theology of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik 36:04

3M ago36:04

36:04

What do we do with the questions that have no answers? How does Jewish faith confront suffering, loneliness, and finitude? And how did Soloveitchik's own life—marked by grief, tradition, and the tension between reason and revelation—shape his unique theological voice? In this episode, Rabbi Shai Held and scholar Arna Poupko Fisher explore the life …

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R. Micha'el Rosenberg on Rosh Chodesh Elul: Teshuvah: Light or Salvation? 9:22

3M ago9:22

9:22

Thinking about our own transgressions and repentance is hard, and so it makes sense that we often latch on to metaphors to help us think about these ideas. Perhaps the strangest metaphor I know of appears in the Zohar.By Hadar Institute

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R. Tali Adler on Parashat Re'eih: Mourning as Children of God 7:26

3M ago7:26

7:26

There is something about our relationship with God that holds us back from unbridled grief.By Hadar Institute

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God in Search of Man: The Theology of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel 40:29

3M ago40:29

40:29

What if God isn't just the one we seek—but the one who seeks us? In this episode, Rabbi Shai Held is joined by Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur for a profound and passionate exploration of the theology of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel—one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. Together, they unpack Heschel’s daring idea that God is not…

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1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Toldot: Rivalry or Relationship? 7:50

1
R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 3 20:22

1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Hayyei Sarah: Rivkah’s Blessing 8:36

1
R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 2 18:10

1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Vayera: The Righteous With the Wicked 8:56

1
R. Aviva Richman: Why Talmud is the Bedrock of My Faith 45:54

1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Lekh Lekha: Walking, Tradition, and Renewal 11:14

1
R. Ayal Robkin: The Apprentice Mind Part 1 21:48

1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Noah: "In His Generation" 13:16

1
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Bereishit: What If Adam Had Reacted Differently? 10:44

1
R. Tali Adler on VeZot HaBerakhah: On Endings and Beginnings 7:57

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Ha'azinu: Living in Between 9:42

1
Dreaming of the Messiah: What Can We Learn from Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook? 39:23

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Vayeilekh: Recreating Sinai 8:40

1
Is Torah Study the Highest Value? 42:55

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Nitzavim: The Long Goodbye 5:36

1
R. Tali Adler: When Teshuvah Is or Should Be Impossible 42:10

1
Judaism and the Heart 38:17

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Ki Tavo: No Final Chapter 7:00

1
R. Dena Weiss: The Mechanics of Mercy: How Does Forgiveness Actually Work? 1:00:14

1
Where is God? Lessons from the Book of Ruth 41:58

1
R. Tali Adler on Ki Teitzei: Living in the Double Exposure 7:02

1
R. Shai Held: Biblical Theology in a Time of Climate Emergency Part 3 34:46

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Shoftim: Even So 7:30

1
Questions That Can't be Answered: The Theology of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik 36:04

1
R. Micha'el Rosenberg on Rosh Chodesh Elul: Teshuvah: Light or Salvation? 9:22

1
R. Tali Adler on Parashat Re'eih: Mourning as Children of God 7:26

1
God in Search of Man: The Theology of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel 40:29