JTalks #15 | Between Punishment and Transformation

In this episode of JTalks, Rabbi Kelita Cohen guides us through one of the most thought-provoking passages in the Talmud (Berachot 10a), revealing how a single nuance of interpretation can completely redefine...

Maintain an ethical stance.

Based on a verse from Psalms (104:35), the text presents two radically different possibilities: eliminating the sinner — or eliminating the sin.

It is in this context that Bruria emerges, a figure of extraordinary Talmudic erudition, whose reading shifts the focus from punishment to transformation. By distinguishing between "sinners" and "sins," she proposes an ethics that confronts transgression without negating human dignity.

Under the sensitive and rigorous guidance of Rabbi Kelita Cohen, the episode broadens the discussion beyond textual exegesis:

What model of justice guides our decisions?

Do we fight people or do we fight behaviors?

Do we punish to exclude or to transform?

A profound reflection on responsibility, compassion, and the transformative power of interpretation.

🎧 Now available on the Jewish Academy's platform, on YouTube, and on major podcast platforms.

Jewish Academy | To study is to transform one's perspective — and, with it, the world.