Daf Yomi: Tractate Makkot
What happens if a witness lies? How can you know if a crime was committed by accident? Should they be punished? Are there really flying camels? We will study the entire tractate Makkot, one page each day, exposing us to a wide array of topics and familiarizing us with Talmudic terms and logic. There will be a siyyum celebration on the last day of the program.
Yedidah Koren
Monday – Friday, 8:45 – 9:30 a.m.
Nach Yomi: The Book of Chronicles I and II
The Book of Chronicles takes us from Creation through the building of the Second Temple. We will study this fast-paced history of the world, taking note of parallels and discrepancies between events described here and how they are portrayed in the rest of the Bible. We will have a siyyum celebration on the last day of the program.
David Silber
Monday – Friday, 8:45 – 9:30 a.m.
Law and Order: Tractate Sanhedrin, Chapter 3
Can you choose your own judge? Will a night in Los Vegas disqualify you from being a witness? What happens if you have only seen half of a crime? We will explore these questions while also developing the skills necessary to read and understand the text of the Gemara.
Level I: Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld
Level II: Joshua Schreier
Monday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Bible Elective: The Quest for God in Psalms
Over thousands of years, psalms have nourished and heightened the spiritual life of Jewish people. We will study the history of psalms, their role in the Temple period, the expression of music in the Temple, and the role of psalms in our liturgical tradition. We will also identify the structure and meaning of specific psalms, their themes, and patterns. We will explore what psalms can teach us today.
Etta Abramson
Monday, Wednesday, 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
Bible Elective: Ezra and Nehemiah
The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, chronologically the last in Tanakh, recount the exciting and tumultuous return of the Jewish nation to the land of Israel following the Babylonian exile. The Jews faced tremendous challenges rebuilding their religious lives and the Temple because of both hostile surrounding nations and deep spiritual crisis. What were the characteristics of Jewish life during the beginning of the Second Temple? How did the Jewish nation change as leadership transferred from prophets to scholars? We will explore these questions through a careful and thoughtful reading of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Devorah Wolf
Monday, Wednesday, 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
Rabbinics Elective: Beyond Good and Evil?
Why do babies bite? Are animals more morally inclined than we are? Are people born good, bad, or conflicted? We will examine these and other issues through the lens of the Rabbinic ideas of yetzer tov and yetzer ha-ra. What are these good and evil inclinations? The answer will provide a window into how the Rabbis viewed God, human beings, and the nature of the world.
Ben Skydell
Tuesday, Thursday, 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
Rabbinics Elective: Just Whose Keeper Am I? Jewish Societal Ethics
A great deal of Torah and halakha focuses on human interaction and social responsibility. The rabbis frequently stress the importance of collective participation in a community, which prompts us to ask: What exactly makes us human? How do we define community? To what degree are we obligated to support one another? We will examine a range of biblical and Talmudic texts to explore these questions, and consider contemporary issues such as healthcare and immigration to enhance our understanding of how Judaism envisions society.
Ruth Balinsky
Tuesday, Thursday, 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
Parashat HaShavua
We will study key themes in each week’s Torah portion and use midrash and other forms of biblical commentary to deepen our analysis.
Shira Hecht-Koller
Friday, 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
Halakha I and II: When in Doubt…
What should you do if you are not sure if a food is kosher? When does Shabbat actually start? What if you and a friend disagree about who owns a favorite shirt and neither of you can really remember who bought it? As a guide for real life, halakha must find a way to address situations in which some facts are murky or unknown. We will learn the principles that are used to decide cases of doubt and study how these principles are applied to a broad range of dubious situations.
Level I: Daniel Reifman
Level II: Wendy Amsellem
Tuesday, Thursday, 3:15 – 5:00 p.m
Talmudic Tales – Moral and Ethical Norms in Rabbinic Culture
How loyal must you be to your teacher? Is it inappropriate to learn from someone else? How much energy should one dedicate to worldly pursuits? Must one always be honest even at the expense of another’s feelings? The Babylonian Talmud is replete with stories that question and define the moral and ethical norms of rabbinic culture. We will study a selection of these stories and consider the implications that they have for our own lives.
David Goshen
Tuesday, Thursday, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.