Meir Soloveichik

Latest Episodes:

The Haggadah—A Political Classic Ep. 3: The Politics of Time Apr 05, 2020

Show notes

A free, 8-part audio course / Passover 2020 The most widely read, beloved, and perplexing book of the Jewish tradition is the Passover Haggadah. It is also a serious work of Jewish political philosophy. This Passover, Tikvah brings you a free audio course from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, exploring the social, civic, and political teachings of the Haggadah. He will show how every prayer, passage, symbol, and song aims to describe and preserve the Jewish understanding of the good society, and why the festival of freedom is so central to understanding what Judaism stands for in every generation. Episode 3: Eating, in Judaism, can be act of religious worship full of ethical meaning—perhaps never more so than during Pesach. Rabbi Soloveichik explains the deep political and theological significance of matzah and chametz as symbols of the Jewish attitude toward time.

The Haggadah—A Political Classic Ep. 2: Children and Continuity Apr 05, 2020

Show notes

A free, 8-part audio course / Passover 2020 The most widely read, beloved, and perplexing book of the Jewish tradition is the Passover Haggadah. It is also a serious work of Jewish political philosophy. This Passover, Tikvah brings you a free audio course from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, exploring the social, civic, and political teachings of the Haggadah. He will show how every prayer, passage, symbol, and song aims to describe and preserve the Jewish understanding of the good society, and why the festival of freedom is so central to understanding what Judaism stands for in every generation. Episode 2: One of the strangest facts about the Haggadah is that in telling the story of the Exodus, it doesn't mention Moses. Rabbi Soloveichik explains how the rabbis sought to honor Moses not as leader, but as teacher, and how this helps us understand why children are the focus of the Seder.

The Haggadah—A Political Classic Ep. 1: The DNA of the Haggadah—Politics and Theology Apr 05, 2020

Show notes

A free, 8-part audio course / Passover 2020 The most widely read, beloved, and perplexing book of the Jewish tradition is the Passover Haggadah. It is also a serious work of Jewish political philosophy. This Passover, Tikvah brings you a free audio course from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, exploring the social, civic, and political teachings of the Haggadah. He will show how every prayer, passage, symbol, and song aims to describe and preserve the Jewish understanding of the good society, and why the festival of freedom is so central to understanding what Judaism stands for in every generation. Episode 1: Theology and politics are deeply intertwined in the text of the Haggadah. In this introductory lecture, Rabbi Soloveichik discusses the intimate link between freedom and monotheism in the story of the Exodus from Egypt.

Sacred Time Ep 12: Tisha b'Av Aug 05, 2019

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Today, the Jewish state is restored and Jerusalem is in our hands. Why do we still mourn ancient Jerusalem's destruction when we have so much to celebrate?

Sacred Time Ep 11: Shavuot Jun 11, 2019

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On Shavuot, Jews celebrate receiving the Torah at Sinai. With all its commandments, the Torah is the source of Jews' most profound joy. But how can law, so complex and didactic, be a source of joy and inspiration that leads to an encounter with God?

Sacred Time Ep 10: The Zionist Holidays May 08, 2019

Show notes

The declaration of Israeli independence and the Israeli victories in 1967 were two of the most significant moments in Jewish History. But what does it mean to mark these moments as holidays, to commemorate and celebrate them as part of the Jewish calendar year? And how does Jerusalem Day allow us to fully understand the very meaning of Jewish statehood itself?

Sacred Time Ep 9: Passover Apr 11, 2019

Show notes

Passover, the Jewish festival of freedom, has extraordinary insight into the nature of liberty. Modeled after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms," Rabbi Meir Soloveichik delineates a more ancient set of four freedoms which derive from the Hebrew Bible and lay at the core of the Passover Seder and its rituals. These are the freedoms that Jews and all Americans must rediscover for the sake of their own spiritual health and political vitality.

Sacred Time Ep 8: Purim Mar 08, 2019

Show notes

Purim is a holiday marked by levity, costumes, and celebration. Yet its ultimate premise is deadly serious. It asks us to recognize not only that Haman exists in every generation, but also that our Jewishness binds us to one another, whether we like it or not. Purim is, in other words, the holiday of Jewish solidarity.

Sacred Time Ep 7: Tu Bishvat Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

Today, Tu Bishvat has evolved into a kind of Jewish Earth Day. Yet the holiday's contemporary transformation teaches us more about the crisis of modern identity than about the day's authentic meaning. Rightly understood, Tu Bishvat's history and traditions remind us of the roots of Jewish identity and its rootedness in the Land in Israel.

Sacred Time Ep 6: Hanukkah Dec 14, 2018

Show notes

Families on Hanukkah gather together and celebrate around dreidels, chocolate coins, and presents. Yet the holiday's most profound meaning is in its core symbol and ritual: the lighting of the menorah. Rabbi Soloveichik takes us through Hanukkah's two pivotal historical stages, the age of the Temple and the age of Diaspora, teaching us about the triumph of monotheism and Judaism, and the lessons Hanukkah's miracles hold for anyone who cares about Jewish survival.

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