Turn it and Turn it

What Stops the Plague? (1/3): Rabbi Akiva’s Students with Miriam Gedwiser

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
Plague is one of God’s preferred forms of collective punishment in the Bible. Just as plagues often start in reaction to human misdeeds, they can often be stopped by human action as well. What stops a plague? How can individual actions, even extreme ones, change the balance of the public’s guilt in God’s eyes? To answer these questions, we will examine depictions of plague and how it can end through the lens of rabbinic texts, including the story of Rabbi Akiva’s students and the abrupt cessation of their plague-related deaths.
Click here to view the accompanying source sheet. 
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 04/26/2021 as part of Drisha's Spring Zman

Quandaries of Quarantine in Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Literature (4/4) with Rabbanit Leah Sarna

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
Solitude comes in many forms in Jewish tradition: Miriam was sent out of the camp for her leprosy. The High Priest quarantines in advance of Yom Kippur. Rav Anan sat in a box to study with Elijah the prophet and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his son learned deep Torah in their cave. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov wrote a How-To Guide for Hitbodedut, the practice of solitude, which he called “greater than everything.” So, what is it: punishment and torture or privilege and treasure, or, confusingly, all of the above? We will look at these sources together to help give articulation to the jumbled experience of our past year and enrich what might hopefully be our last months of isolation.
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 04/29/2021 as part of Drisha's Spring Zman.

Quandaries of Quarantine in Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Literature (3/4) with Rabbanit Leah Sarna

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
Solitude comes in many forms in Jewish tradition: Miriam was sent out of the camp for her leprosy. The High Priest quarantines in advance of Yom Kippur. Rav Anan sat in a box to study with Elijah the prophet and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his son learned deep Torah in their cave. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov wrote a How-To Guide for Hitbodedut, the practice of solitude, which he called “greater than everything.” So, what is it: punishment and torture or privilege and treasure, or, confusingly, all of the above? We will look at these sources together to help give articulation to the jumbled experience of our past year and enrich what might hopefully be our last months of isolation.
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 04/22/2021 as part of Drisha's Spring Zman.

Quandaries of Quarantine in Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Literature (2/4) with Rabbanit Leah Sarna

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
Solitude comes in many forms in Jewish tradition: Miriam was sent out of the camp for her leprosy. The High Priest quarantines in advance of Yom Kippur. Rav Anan sat in a box to study with Elijah the prophet and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his son learned deep Torah in their cave. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov wrote a How-To Guide for Hitbodedut, the practice of solitude, which he called “greater than everything.” So, what is it: punishment and torture or privilege and treasure, or, confusingly, all of the above? We will look at these sources together to help give articulation to the jumbled experience of our past year and enrich what might hopefully be our last months of isolation.
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 04/15/2021 as part of Drisha's Spring Zman.

Quandaries of Quarantine in Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Literature (1/4) with Rabbanit Leah Sarna

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
Solitude comes in many forms in Jewish tradition: Miriam was sent out of the camp for her leprosy. The High Priest quarantines in advance of Yom Kippur. Rav Anan sat in a box to study with Elijah the prophet and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his son learned deep Torah in their cave. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov wrote a How-To Guide for Hitbodedut, the practice of solitude, which he called “greater than everything.” So, what is it: punishment and torture or privilege and treasure, or, confusingly, all of the above? We will look at these sources together to help give articulation to the jumbled experience of our past year and enrich what might hopefully be our last months of isolation.
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 04/08/2021 as part of Drisha's Spring Zman. 

The Blessing of 2021: Should One Say a Bracha when Receiving the COVID Vaccine? with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
As the challenging year 2020 comes to a close and we enter 2021, the blessing of a COVID vaccine is being rolled out. How should we respond to this positive development, and particularly what Bracha or other prayer is appropriate to be recited upon receiving the vaccine?
Click here to view the accompanying source sheet. 
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 01/01/2021

Jewish Theology and Covid (3/3): COVID and Messianism — Does the Pandemic Mean Mashiach is Near? with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
The COVID-19 pandemic, resulting shutdown, and prospect of return to a "new normal" has raised not only questions of Jewish law, discussed in a prior series, but also important questions of Jewish theology. Part 3 of this 3-part series analyzing discussions the prospect of messianism, as expressed over recent months.
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 06/15/2020

Jewish Theology and Covid (2/3): Coronavirus Theodicy – What is God’s Role and How Should We Respond? with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
The COVID-19 pandemic, resulting shutdown, and prospect of return to a "new normal" has raised not only questions of Jewish law, discussed in a prior series, but also important questions of Jewish theology. Part 2 of a 3-part series analyzing discussions over the value of human life, issues of theodicy, and the prospect of messianism, as expressed over recent months.
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 06/09/2020

Jewish Theology and Covid (1/3): Reopen the Shuls? When Valuing Human Life and Religious Expression Conflict with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
The COVID-19 pandemic, resulting shutdown, and prospect of return to a "new normal" has raised not only questions of Jewish law, discussed in a prior series, but also important questions of Jewish theology. Part 1 of a 3-part series analyzing discussions over the value of human life, issues of theodicy, and the prospect of messianism, as expressed over recent months.
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 06/03/2020

Shut Down the Mikveh? Halakhic Opinions and Options on Dipping Under Duress with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier

This season of Turn it & Turn it is on the topic of: "COVID"
This audio was originally captured from Zoom on 05/11/2020