Shows
Ta ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: The Promise and Impossibility of UnityWhat does it mean to strive toward unity and togetherness in a moment in which we are so divided? What is gained—and what is lost—by holding fast to notions of klal yisrael? Is it possible and even desirable to bridge our differences, or are there times in which our values take priority over notions of togetherness? R. Avi explores these questions through biblical, midrashic, and hasidic sources in her lecture in memory of Dr. Eddie Scharfmanm, given in 2026.Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/StrausbergPromisePossibilityUnity2026.pdf
2026-01-1251 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Pride Month 2025: Flags of LoveThe Song of Songs (2:4) imagines a boundless love between two lovers in which one lover says of the other, “his flag of love was upon me.” That’s how I felt at Pride this month—surrounded by flags of love.
2025-06-3004 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: A God of Truth?The Talmud teaches us that God is a God of truth who it would seem values honesty. Yet, what does that mean for all of our questions and doubts? Is there a limit to how honest we can be and are there situations in which another value trumps honesty for the sake of something greater? This class, which is part 1 of a 3 part series, will turn to Talmud, midrash, and poetry to explore intellectual honesty, accuracy in language, and the role of questions in our relationships with God. Recorded in Winter 2025.Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1...
2025-05-0533 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: Children of BelieversThe first Pesah was a leil shimurim, a night of watching, a night of fear and uncertainty. Amid darkness and screams, the fate of the Israelites hung in the balance, with hopes of redemption and freedom in their hearts. They were asked to believe in a God they didn't know and to set out on a journey with no destination in sight. Amazingly, they trusted in God and they followed Moshe out of Egypt. What does it mean to believe today in a moment of great uncertainty and doubt? What is the source of faith and in what must on...
2025-03-3141 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: Midrashim of DestructionIn its time, the destruction of the Temple, habayit (the house), brought with it tremendous violence, loss and suffering. In this session, we'll turn to new midrashim written post-October 7th by Dr. Nurit Hirschfeld-Skupinsky, a professor of Midrash in Israel. In these midrashim she understands the destruction of one kind of bayit, the Temple, as a kind of a destruction of another kind of bayit, the house and families whose lives were shattered on and after October 7th. Based on traditional midrashim from Eichah Rabbah (lamentations) and the Talmud, Hirschfeld-Skupinsky's midrashim tell the stories of the devastation and loss...
2024-10-0737 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Rosh Chodesh Elul: What Does Torah Offer Us This Year?Back in Elul of 2023, when I began this year of writing Divrei Torah for the holidays, we didn’t know what devastation lay ahead. In retrospect, each of the Divrei Torah I’ve written this year can be read in light of the events of October 7th. Each holiday celebrated, every encounter with Torah is refracted through the lens of the last eleven months. If there has been a theme that has tied all of this Torah together it is: How do we observe and mourn and celebrate our holy days in light of a continually unfolding tragedy that plagues...
2024-09-0309 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Tisha B'Av: “Let it Not Totter and Fall”Beresheit Rabbah (3:7) teaches that God created and destroyed many worlds before finally allowing this world, our world, to stand. This midrash is teaching us three things. First, destruction and loss are a part of the fabric of our very existence. There is no avoiding it; there is only wrestling and reconciling and accepting it. Second, the midrash contains in it a promise or a hope that even after each destruction, a new world is created. After loss, there is rebirth. After the destruction of one world, there is the creation of the next.
2024-08-1211 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on the 17th of Tammuz: In the Depths of SorrowTomorrow, we arrive at the second of the four annual fasts commemorating the destruction of the Temple. According to the Mishnah (Ta’anit 4:6), 17 Tammuz marks the end of the offering of the tamid, the daily sacrifice, as well as the breaching of the city walls. Until this point, despite the siege, the routine of Temple life had continued with the tamid as the daily offering before God. But from this point forward, as a result of the siege, there were no longer lambs left to bring to the altar and the tamid went unoffered. This break in Temple life, along...
2024-07-2308 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Shavuot: Forgetting the TorahWhile I love learning Torah, I have a very poor memory for it. More often than not, when I re-encounter a piece of Torah that I have surely learned before, it’s as if it’s for the first time. Given on the one hand, my love for Torah and a genuine desire to learn Talmud and Midrash, Hasidut and Musar, and on the other, the inevitability that I will forget all of this Torah I learn, I find myself wondering on this Shavuot, what is the point? What is the point of staying up late all night l...
2024-06-1007 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Pride Month 2024: Take This With YouI am blessed to have three kids, aged 9, 6, and 2—this means a lot of first days of daycare and school. These first days are always exciting for us and for them. We know that they will make new friends, have new experiences, grow and learn in unimaginable ways. Yet they are also days filled with trepidation; they set off for new and unknown experiences for which we can’t accompany them. On each of these days, we tuck a family photo in their backpack in a safe place. With this gesture, we are trying to say: “Take this with you. We wil...
2024-06-0305 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Lag Ba'Omer: From Wave to Wave to WaveWhen my dad died in my early 20s, I remember being wowed by the ways in which grief came in waves. One minute, I was crying and couldn’t imagine ever moving through my sadness and several hours later, I was surprised to find myself laughing—actually able to laugh—within the first days of my dad’s death. With confidence, I realized, this was the way it was going to be. Each time that I cried and each time that I laughed, I knew it wouldn’t be the last time. The grief and the joy—they would keep coming in t...
2024-05-2609 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Pesah Sheini: Demanding a Seat at the TableI am lucky to live a life with no food sensitivities. I can eat what I want and I’m happy to be an “easy guest,” quick to assure hosts that I have no special food needs. However, several years ago, in an attempt to identify the cause of my migraines, I found myself a person suddenly with many food sensitivities I was told to avoid. I went from being a person who could eat everything to a person who approached each meal with anxiety, wondering what food I would find to fill myself up. I was no longer...
2024-05-2011 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Yom HaZikaron/Yom Ha'Atzma’ut: At a DistanceI have always found it difficult to find an observance of Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’Atzma’ut that feels meaningful and authentic as a Jew living in the Diaspora. In Israel, the observance of these holidays is effortless and all-encompassing: you simply have to be present and you are in it, flowing from the intensity of Yom HaZikaron to the joy of Yom Ha’Atzma’ut. It’s the music on the radio, it’s the tzfirah (siren) in the streets that brings everything to a halt in a moment of silence, it’s the communal get-togethers on Yom Ha’Atzma’ut...
2024-05-1309 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Yom HaShoah: Power and PowerlessnessFor many of us, the past six months have been an education in powerlessness. From where I sit in America, I felt powerless hearing about the brutality and depravity of October 7. I felt powerless sitting comfortably in my home while day after day people were held hostage in underground darkness, uncared for and unseen. I felt powerless as the death toll of Palestinians civilians rose and Gaza’s population fell into immense suffering. I could do my one minute a day to call my representatives to demand an immediate release of those held hostage. I could check in with friends...
2024-05-0610 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Purim: Look to the World and Find GodAs someone who longs to feel God’s presence in my life in a clear and direct manner, I have always been struck by the fact that God is noticeably absent from Megillat Esther. In a story that is about the near demise and heroic salvation of the Jewish people, it is not God’s hand that is featured in this story as the saving force, but rather the human hands of Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai. What is Megillat Esther teaching us about living in a world in which, as in our own, God’s presence...
2024-03-1808 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Tu Bishvat: Wait For ItTu Bishvat is a holiday that is about slow growth, patience, and gratitude. In a culture that is all about instant gratification and next day delivery, Tu Bishvat teaches us to slow down. It requires us to wait.
2024-01-2206 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on MLK Day: They Should Have LearnedIn Letter from Birmingham Jail, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses his critics and writes, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” To be a real ally and advocate for change requires more than just good intentions and lukewarm support; it demands deep understanding and personal accountability. I worry that I might be just the kind of person with shallow understanding and good will about which Dr. King wrote.
2024-01-1505 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on the 10th of Tevet: The Imperative of HopeAsarah b’Tevet (the 10th of the month of Tevet), marks the beginning of the end of the First Temple. It marks the beginning of a 30-month period in which the Jews in Jerusalem found themselves pressed on all sides, overcome by the army of the Babylonian empire, with little hope in sight. What was it like for them to be at the beginning of this period of great uncertainty? Did they hold on to hope and, if so, what was the nature of that hope? Or, from the beginning, could they only think about the end, fearing their own...
2023-12-2209 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Hanukkah: A Strong LightWe are all plagued by fears and anxieties, both rational and irrational, founded and unfounded. Often, when we are afraid, we keep our fears to ourselves, letting our inner voices run wild as we play our worst fear on loops. What if I am sick? What if I am not good enough? What if we can’t make it work? Maybe we don’t want to share our fears because fear can be mixed with other complicated emotions like guilt and shame, anger and doubt. Perhaps the story of Hanukkah is teaching us that, even and especially in moments of fear, t...
2023-12-1107 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Thanksgiving: Can We Be Worthy?It can be hard to say thank you. I know, for myself, sometimes after abandoning the kitchen at night to a sinkful of dishes and a couch covered in clothes waiting to be folded, I wake up in the morning to a clean sink and folded clothes, and I find myself so grateful to my wife’s midnight work. Obviously, I should say thank you and I owe her more than just a thank you. Yet it’s hard for me. There can be something awkward about gratitude. There is something uncomfortable about admitting that you are indebted to some...
2023-11-2308 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg on Simhat Torah: Becoming TorahAt the end of the day, or perhaps at the end of the Jewish calendar year, am I actually a better person as a result of the many hours given over each year to Torah study? Or, am I the same person I was before, just another year older?
2023-10-0507 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: Holding God Holding UsFor much of our lives we are unable to receive or offer the holding and embracing that we need. Sukkot is yhe holiday that invites us to pause—to hold and to be held.
2023-09-2708 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: All the Torah I Never LearnedJewish sources come down hard on the evils of forgetting Torah, going so far as to consider one who forgets one item of learning "as if he were mortally liable!" Yet who among us hasn’t struggled to remember that piece of learning we did years ago...or even yesterday. As we approach Shavuot, a holiday in which we celebrate Torah by staying up late to learn Torah that we will most likely forget, we'll explore whether there might be positive value in forgetting Torah. No memorization required!
2023-05-1537 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: The Before and After - The Sudden Deaths of Nadav and AvihuThe sudden death of Aaron's sons Nadav and Avihu leaves readers stunned and grappling for answers. By turning to a modern midrash in the form of an original short theatre piece written by R. Avi Strausberg, we attempt to pause time and make space to not only understand the motivations for their offerings, but also how their sudden deaths impacted their mother, their father, and their remaining brothers.This session was originally delivered at Hadar's Summer Learning Retreat in June 2021.
2022-12-1246 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: I Cannot Tell a Lie... Or Can I?If someone you wouldn’t endorse asks you for a recommendation, what would you say? Discussing the ethics around truth and lying, Rabbi Avi Strausberg presents multiple approaches to the topic and asks what to do when there may not be a clear answer. This lecture was recorded at the Hadar Rabbinic Yeshiva Intensive in 2020.
2022-06-1349 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: The Danger of HopeIn times of despair and sadness, hope plays an important role. But can there be danger from too much hope? R.Avi Strausberg explores a wide variety of sources from the Talmud to modern poetry to explore how we can incorporate hope into our lives without being crushed by hope of a world that never comes. This lecture was originally delivered as the Dr. Eddie Scharfman Memorial Lecture in January 2021.
2022-03-2053 min
Jewish Ideas to Change the WorldFrom Flood to RainbowA virtual event presentation by Rabbi Avi Strausberg
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Just chapters after the flood that nearly destroyed the world, we see that humankind has quickly rebounded and all of the peoples have joined together to build a tower that nearly scrapes the sky. But, how did we get from there to here? What was it like to step out of the ark and begin again? In this session, we’ll revisit the familiar story of the flood and read it again through the eyes of a modern new midrash that imagines what it was like for the dove an...
2022-02-0257 minTa ShmaR. Avi Strausberg: Bones of My Bones, Flesh of My FleshGet to the roots of gender in the Torah by turning to the opening narratives of creation in Genesis 1 and 2. What might these two different accounts of the creation of the first man and first woman imply about the Torah's understandings of gender and gender roles in relationships? Moving beyond the Torah, we meet Lilith, the woman who breaks the mold and challenges stereotypical notions of gender. Through a close encounter with Torah, traditional midrash, and contemporary interpretations, we'll examine and reexamine notions of gender and relationships in hopes of better articulating our understandings of gender and gender roles...
2021-12-2129 min
Daily Daf DifferentlyTaanit, Daf 22Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 22.
In today’s episode, we’ll continue to explore what it means to be holy and more specifically address the question, what does one have to do to secure a place in olam ha’ba, the world to come. We’ll eavesdrop on the conversation of Eliyahu Ha’Navi and Rabbi Broka as they stand in the marketplace pointing who gets a spot and who doesn’t. Through these exemplar figures that merit a spot, we’ll learn that holiness comes in all differe...
2021-12-0413 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet TaanitTaanit, Daf 22Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 22.
In today’s episode, we’ll continue to explore what it means to be holy and more specifically address the question, what does one have to do to secure a place in olam ha’ba, the world to come. We’ll eavesdrop on the conversation of Eliyahu Ha’Navi and Rabbi Broka as they stand in the marketplace pointing who gets a spot and who doesn’t. Through these exemplar figures that merit a spot, we’ll learn that holiness comes in all differe...
2021-12-0413 minDaily Daf DifferentlyTaanit, Daf 21Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 21.
In today’s episode, we’ll meet the righteous man Nachum Ish Gam Zo, a great rabbi seemingly condemned to a difficult life of suffering. What has he done to deserve this fate? By unpacking his story and understanding how he got to where he is, we’ll think about our responsibility to acknowledge suffering in the world, seek justice, and help the vulnerable other standing before us.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Ep...
2021-12-0309 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet TaanitTaanit, Daf 21Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 21.
In today’s episode, we’ll meet the righteous man Nachum Ish Gam Zo, a great rabbi seemingly condemned to a difficult life of suffering. What has he done to deserve this fate? By unpacking his story and understanding how he got to where he is, we’ll think about our responsibility to acknowledge suffering in the world, seek justice, and help the vulnerable other standing before us.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Ep...
2021-12-0309 minDaily Daf DifferentlyTaanit, Daf 20Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 20.
In today’s episode, we’ll learn the classic aggadic story of Rabbi Elazar’s encounter with a strange fellow on his way home from a great day of Torah learning. Through that story, we’ll explore what it means to be “hard like a cedar and soft like a reed” and reflect on how to integrate this principle into our own lives and relationships.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
2021-12-0209 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet TaanitTaanit, Daf 20Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 20.
In today’s episode, we’ll learn the classic aggadic story of Rabbi Elazar’s encounter with a strange fellow on his way home from a great day of Torah learning. Through that story, we’ll explore what it means to be “hard like a cedar and soft like a reed” and reflect on how to integrate this principle into our own lives and relationships.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
2021-12-0209 minDaily Daf DifferentlyTaanit, Daf 19Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 19.
In today’s episode, we learn the famous aggada of Honi the Circle-Maker who stands before God and boldly demands rain for a community in drought. We’ll think about what we can and cannot ask God for, focusing on when requests in prayer cross into inappropriate demands of God. We’ll reflect on the centrality of water as the stuff of our lives and think about the relationship between prayer and action as a means to address communal distress.
The...
2021-12-0111 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet TaanitTaanit, Daf 19Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 19.
In today’s episode, we learn the famous aggada of Honi the Circle-Maker who stands before God and boldly demands rain for a community in drought. We’ll think about what we can and cannot ask God for, focusing on when requests in prayer cross into inappropriate demands of God. We’ll reflect on the centrality of water as the stuff of our lives and think about the relationship between prayer and action as a means to address communal distress.
The...
2021-12-0111 minDaily Daf DifferentlyTaanit, Daf 18Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 18.
In today’s episode, we’ll learn about Megillat Taanit, the scroll that details 35 celebratory, historical events that the rabbis declared should be observed as holidays for all generations. We’ll unpack what it means to observe these days as days of celebration and reflect on what the role is for seriousness and sorrow on days of joy.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
This podcast is a coll...
2021-11-3011 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet TaanitTaanit, Daf 18Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 18.
In today’s episode, we’ll learn about Megillat Taanit, the scroll that details 35 celebratory, historical events that the rabbis declared should be observed as holidays for all generations. We’ll unpack what it means to observe these days as days of celebration and reflect on what the role is for seriousness and sorrow on days of joy.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
This podcast is a coll...
2021-11-3011 minDaily Daf DifferentlyTaanit, Daf 17Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 17.
In today’s episode, we explore why Cohanim were forbidden to drink in the days of the Temple and whether this prohibition would apply to Cohanim in our times. We’ll think about how our lives are different today in a post-Temple world and through the sugya, we’ll reflect on what we mean when we pray for the Temple to be rebuild speedily in our times.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epicho...
2021-11-2911 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet TaanitTaanit, Daf 17Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 17.
In today’s episode, we explore why Cohanim were forbidden to drink in the days of the Temple and whether this prohibition would apply to Cohanim in our times. We’ll think about how our lives are different today in a post-Temple world and through the sugya, we’ll reflect on what we mean when we pray for the Temple to be rebuild speedily in our times.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epicho...
2021-11-2911 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet TaanitTaanit, Daf 16Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 16.
In today’s episode, we’ll delve into the ritual fasts that a community takes upon themselves when suffering from lack of rain and fearing for the harvest to come. We’ll explore the theology of reward and punishment and reflect on what qualifies as true repentance. Lastly, we’ll address the question, where is God when the people are suffering, wanting for rain.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
2021-11-2809 minDaily Daf DifferentlyTaanit, Daf 16Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 16.
In today’s episode, we’ll delve into the ritual fasts that a community takes upon themselves when suffering from lack of rain and fearing for the harvest to come. We’ll explore the theology of reward and punishment and reflect on what qualifies as true repentance. Lastly, we’ll address the question, where is God when the people are suffering, wanting for rain.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
2021-11-2809 min
To (Mom) LifeEpisode 63: How to Learn Torah With Your Children in a Meaningful and Interesting WayWhile learning Torah with your children is a truly special experience, it can also become quite challenging. What does it mean for a child to learn Torah and what can you teach them that’s unique from what they’re already learning in school? In this episode, Jodi and her guest - Chana Kupetz break down this process and discuss how you and your children can get the best out of your time together as you learn Torah.About Our Guest:Chana Kupetz is the Children’s and Families Program Manager at Hadar. Prior...
2021-10-2027 min
The Vibe of the TribeIt Is Talmud, and We Must LearnOn Jan. 5, 2020, Miriam and Dan embarked on a seven-and-a-half-year journey simultaneously with tens of thousands of people across the world. Their collective quest? To participate in Daf Yomi (literally “daily page”), the ongoing daily sequential study of the Babylonian Talmud.
Does studying one page of Talmud each day seem easy to you? Pardon Miriam and Dan while they laugh and cry hysterically. The Talmud is a multi-generational codification of Judaism’s oral Torah, with crammed analysis, deep thought and frequent whiplash-inducing non-sequiturs from an enormous cast of rabbis discussing everything—and we do mean everything—of significance to Jews of the post-T...
2021-01-041h 11Raising Holy SparksEpisode 9: How to Tackle Huge Projects; On The Talmud and Haiku creation w/Rabbi Avi StrausbergA Haiku: we discuss talmud, and studying the whole thing, and writing haikus. If that's not 17 syllables feel free to email me at hello@mishaclebaner.com. I speak with Rabbi Avi Strausberg about her 7.5 years of reading and writing her way through talmud.
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