Over 250 years in America, Judaism—a way of life that centers obligation—has had to negotiate a culture defined by autonomy and freedom. How has that tension shaped Jewish life, mitzvot, and halakhah over the past 250 years? What will it take to sustain a culture of mitzvot over the next 250 years? Recorded at Hadar's Summer 2026 Kickoff Event.

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/250YearsJudaismAmericaTucker2026.pdf

Over the past three years, a myriad of terms for the reality of war have emerged in Israeli discourse: a commanded war (milhemet mitzvah), an existential war (milhemet kiyyum), a war of restoration (milhemet komemiyut), an optional war (milhemet reshut), and more. At the core of each concept lies a different mode of conduct and a different motive, and they express a stance on the place war occupies in society as a whole, and in relation to other social duties and needs in particular.

The tragedies we remember on 17th Tammuz are really of different kinds.

Bilam’s prophecies are rich, dense, and enigmatic. One in particular was emphasised recently in 2025 when the war with Iran took its name from Bilam’s words: “a people like a lion” (am ke-lavi). What does this phrase mean? What kind of people are “like a lion”? What does this mean for our identity as Israel? And what use of power does Bilam’s analogy suggest?

Before the Amidah, we take three steps forward. What is the origin of this custom, and what is the symbolism of these steps? This class explores a number of approaches, all oriented to deepen our connection with God. Recorded at Hadar's Rabbinic Yeshivah Intensive, March 2026.

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/RYI2026KaunferSteppingIntoPrayer.pdf

This parashah focuses on the leadership and religious dispute that erupts between Korah and his assembly and Moshe and Aharon. Seemingly, the parashah rules in favor of one side—that of Moshe and Aharon—against Korah’s claim. It could easily be extrapolated from this drama that disputes are harmful, that they create violence and division, and that what God really wants for us is total unity behind our leadership.

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/HochsteinParashatKorah5786.pdf

Not everyone has the best intentions. This class explores the category of the "eid zomem" - the false witness who tries, but fails, to condemn an innocent person through their testimony. What is the proper way to think about one who tries to do wrong, but doesn't succeed? What do we do when the punishment can't possibly fit the crime? The remainder of this 6-part series can be found on Hadar's Torah Library. Recorded in Winter 2026.

Source sheet: https://mechonhadar.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/WeissConsequences2026Part1.pdf

Parashat Shelah confronts us with a poignant question that touches our personal lives from time to time: How do we hold fast to a minority opinion? How can we align ourselves with Yehoshua and Calev, resisting the temptation to join the majority consensus of the spies?