Leading the Public Discourse
Communal leaders are actively seeking out Hartman resources and thought leadership to make sense of this moment and lead their communities during this crisis.
The Shalom Hartman Institute has seen record engagement with our content, reflecting the community’s need to explore the moral questions related to this moment, process and understand the realities of war, and connect to the larger Jewish world.
Classes, Gatherings, & Briefings
The Institute is offering an increased number of programs for lay leaders, students, rabbis, and educators from across North America to study with us, reflect on the current situation, and explore relevant Jewish texts and ideas that shape their leadership, including:
- We are offering virtual and in-person lectures, briefings, and sessions in communities across North America where Hartman faculty and scholars are addressing the critical issues facing Israel and North American Jewish communities today.
- Sessions in our Ideas for Today virtual learning series are exploring the implications of the Israel-Hamas war. Torah for this Moment with Elana Stein Hain and Voices from Israel featuring Hartman scholars in Israel provide opportunities to explore what we can learn from Jewish tradition as we navigate these difficult times.
Podcasts
The Institute’s diverse podcasts are providing listeners with timely reflections and conversations about the rapidly evolving situation.
- We’ve quadrupled production of For Heaven’s Sake with a special series on Israel at War. It regularly tops the podcast charts in North America and has seen an unprecedented increase in Israeli listeners. Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi discuss topics like moral red lines, the leadership void in Israel, and the impact of fear and anxiety, through the lens of Jewish tradition and wisdom.
- On Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer is exploring the consequences of October 7 by examining how the Jewish Diaspora is responding to the resulting war, considering how this war will define an entire generation of young Jews, and grappling with the impact of moral and ethical questions related to the war.
- We launched a new Hebrew podcast, Lema’an Hashem, hosted by Donniel Hartman and Dov Elbaum, who bring unique and divergent Jewish-Israeli perspectives to their conversations about what is happening in Israel.
- We produced a special series of Perfect Jewish Parents that explores the core questions and values that this difficult moment illuminates so that parents, caregivers, and educators can navigate complex conversations with young people.
- In early 2024 we are launching TEXTing, a new podcast hosted by Elana Stein Hain exploring how Jewish wisdom can inform and inspire our response to the current circumstances.
Living a more meaningful Jewish life while juggling the responsibilities of parenthood. Who's perfect?
Thought Leadership
Hartman scholars are framing the current moment and bringing Jewish wisdom and textual traditions to our understanding of war, community, resilience, and justice.
- We launched a blog, Notes for the Field, which draws on collective Jewish wisdom and offers guidance, inspiration, and support for navigating the challenges facing the Jewish people today.
- We produced a special issue of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas addressing the unique challenges and issues related to the war.
- Hartman scholars and their thought leadership are shaping the conversation about the war in major publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, Times of Israel, JTA, Ynet, the Forward, and more.
Guidance, inspiration, and support for navigating the challenges facing the Jewish people today.
This moment is, in many ways, what the Shalom Hartman Institute was created for.
We are the foremost institution creating modern Jewish scholarship enabling Jews to reconnect to Jewish wisdom and reinforce Jewish values and a sense of Peoplehood. At this dark and scary time, our work is critical to our community’s ability to process the trauma of October 7 and the subsequent war, understand the impact on our identity and our community, and explore the moral dilemmas of this moment through the lens of Jewish texts and ideas.
