Jewish Insights with Justin Pines

What makes the Book of Ruth one of the most beloved texts in the Jewish canon — and what does it have to say about the choices we face in our own lives?

Dr. Raizi Chechik — founding Director of the Pava Center for Women’s Torah Scholarship at Yeshiva University (https://go.yu.edu/pava), Community Scholar at The Jewish Center of Manhattan, and veteran Jewish educator who has taught in over one hundred communities across the globe — offers a fresh and compelling reading of Megillat Ruth. She reveals what makes it unique in all of Tanach: a story with genuine heroes, but no villains at all. Every character stands at a crossroads — not between good and evil, but between the understandable human impulse to look out for oneself and the transcendent capacity to live for others. Their choices, she shows, are a mirror for our own, and offer inspiration at this crossroads in Jewish history which demands more of every individual. 

Part 3 of our 3-part Shavuot series on Jewish Insights with Justin Pines, made possible by Micah Philanthropies, Ann and Jeremy Pava, Trustees (https://www.micahphilanthropies.org/).

The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) is one of the Torah's most familiar yet mysterious stories. In this episode of Jewish Insights, host Justin Pines is joined by Ms. Shuli Taubes — educator, scholar, and chair of the Jewish Thought department at SAR High School — who takes us back to Migdal Bavel and uncovers something in the text that most of us have never noticed. What is G-d actually worried about? And what does the answer reveal about the nature of the divine-human relationship?

This is Torah learning that will surprise you.

This episode is part of Jewish Insights with Justin Pines' special three-part Shavuot series Illuminating Torah, featuring Rabba Yaffa Epstein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsIcob5UqrM&t=310s, Ms. Shuli Taubes, and Ms. Raizi Chechik, made possible in part by Micah Philanthropies, Ann and Jeremy Pava, Trustees.

About Shuli Taubes: Shuli Taubes chairs the Jewish Thought department at SAR High School, where she also serves as the Director of Educational Programming and teaches Tanakh and Comparative Religion. She is the author of This Too is Torah, a book and curriculum on Jewish sexual ethics published through Machon Siach, the research arm of SAR. Shuli received her Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Harvard Divinity School and her BA in History from Barnard College. 

Part 2 of 3 — Illuminating Torah: A Shavuot Series

Don't miss the full series! Like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you don't miss Parts 1 & 3.

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What does it really mean to receive the Torah — and is it actually designed for imperfect people? In this illuminating first installment of our special three-part Shavuot Torah series, Jewish Insights host Justin Pines sits down with Rabba Yaffa Epstein to explore two extraordinary stories from the Babylonian Talmud that reveal the behind-the-scenes drama of Moses ascending to receive the Torah at Sinai.

From Moses' epic battle with the angels (Tractate Shabbat 88b–89a) to his humbling time-travel into Rabbi Akiva's study hall (Tractate Menachot 29b), these ancient stories carry a radical and deeply human message: the Torah was not given despiteour imperfections — it was given because of them.

About Rabba Yaffa Epstein: Rabba Yaffa Epstein is Senior Scholar and Educator in Residence at the Jewish Education Project - https://www.jewishedproject.org/elevating-bold-ideas-jewish-education, with decades of experience as a teacher, scholar, and institutional leader. She previously served as Director of the Wexner Heritage Program, and as Director of Education, North America for the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, where she was also a faculty member. She has taught at Yeshivat Maharat and the Drisha Institute, and has partnered with organizations including the Jewish Federations of North America, UJA New York, the Covenant Foundation, Repair the World, and Hillel. A sought-after Scholar and Educator in Residence, she has lectured at Limmud events worldwide and created educational programming for communities across the denominational spectrum.

Rabba Epstein holds Orthodox Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshivat Maharat and an additional private Orthodox Ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes. She earned a Law Degree from Bar-Ilan University and studied Talmud at Hebrew University. In 2024, she received the prestigious Covenant Award for outstanding contributions to Jewish education. Her writing has appeared in the SAPIR Journal, the Jerusalem Post, and numerous Jewish publications.

 Part 1 of 3 — Illuminating Torah: A Shavuot Series

Don't miss the full series! Like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you don't miss Parts 2 & 3.

Dr. Tal Becker — architect of the Abraham Accords, Israel's voice at the Hague, former Legal Adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior peace negotiator across multiple rounds of talks, and Vice President of the Shalom Hartman Institute (https://www.hartman.org.il/person/tal-becker/) — joins Jewish Insights with Justin Pines for a conversation about Jewish identity, how we talk about Israel, and the evolving organizing narrative of the Jewish people in a fractured moment. 

He brings to this conversation not the week's headlines, but something harder to find: wisdom.

Dr. Tal Becker — architect of the Abraham Accords, Israel's voice at the Hague, former Legal Adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior peace negotiator across multiple rounds of talks, and Vice President of the Shalom Hartman Institute (https://www.hartman.org.il/person/tal-becker/) — joins Jewish Insights with Justin Pines for a conversation about Jewish identity, how we talk about Israel, and the evolving organizing narrative of the Jewish people in a fractured moment. He brings to this conversation not the week's headlines, but something harder to find: wisdom.