Blowing Shofar in Piaseczna

The Piaseczner Rebbe’s drashot on Rosh HaShana, both before and during the Shoah, revolve around a parable of a king and his exiled son. Each year the story shifts subtly, while in the last year of the Rebbe’s drashot (RH 1941) it disappears. As we consider the reasons why we blow shofar and themes surrounding the sounds, join Rabbi Dr. Zvi Leshem and trace this theme in the Rebbe’s drashot and how it mirrors the increasingly difficult historical context.

                                            
                                            Next Class
                                        September 06, 2026
6
Days
6
Hours
7
Mins

                                                Timezone
                                            
                                            Time of Class
                                        
                                                        Sunday                                                    

                                                        6:00 pm

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September 6, 2026 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Blowing Shofar in Piaseczna: Blowing the Shofar in Piaseczna

Class description

Rav Zvi Leshem

Rabbi Dr. Zvi Leshem made aliyah in 1979. He studied in Yeshivat HaMivtar and was ordained by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He holds a PhD in Jewish Thought from Bar-Ilan, specializing in Hasidism. After decades in chinuch and as a shul rav, he directed the Gershom Scholem Collection for Kabbalah and Hasidism at the National Library of Israel until his retirement. R. Zvi is the author of "Redemptions: Contemporary Chassidic Essays on the Parsha and the Festivals", and numerous rabbinic and scholarly articles. He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia Hebraica, second edition and is also a scribe. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Julie, and their many kids and grandkids live all over Israel.