Fall 2008 Courses

Spring 2010 Courses

To download a PDF of our spring catalog, click here.

Mondays

Kiddushin Perek Bet: Ha-Ish Mikadesh
The Marital Process
Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg
Level: 1

Continuing from the fall, but open to newcomers, this beit midrash (study house) style course, will introduce participants to Talmudic thought and discourse through the prism of the Jewish wedding ceremony. As we immerse ourselves in Tractate Kiddushin, poignant questions about both the marital process and Jewish law emerge. Is the Jewish wedding ceremony merely a legal procedure—or does it account for the intimate relationship being forged? Can one be rewarded for an action performed by another—or held accountable for another’s detrimental actions? Our discussions will also touch upon broader issues, such as the relationship between Biblical and Rabbinic law. With a segment of chevrutah (partnered) learning in each class, this course will foster independent skills, begin development of a working Aramaic lexicon, and provide an introduction to Talmudic methodology.

Mondays, 8:00 - 9:15 PM
8 sessions: February 1, 8, 22; March 1, 8, 15; April 12, 19
Location: Young Israel of Brookline
Tuition: $130
New students welcome!

Ketubot Perek Vav: Metziat Isha
Fiscal Dimensions of Matrimony
Rabbi Avi Rockoff
Level: 3

In contrast to modern notions of romance and personal compatibility, in halakhah as in many societies past and present, marriage is largely a monetary arrangement. The sixth perek (chapter) of Tractate Ketubot covers several financial aspects of marriage, including dowries, a wife’s ownership of found property and work product, and disposition of estates to widows. We will supplement our study of this perek by learning related sugyot (Talmudic discussions) in Ketubot and elsewhere, along with poskim (legal decisors) and she’elot u’teshuvot (responsa). These investigations will improve our grasp of the technical details of ketuba obligations, halakhic financial arrangements relating to married couples, and the implications of these laws for the institution of marriage and the relationship between husbands and wives.

Mondays, 8:00 - 9:15 PM
8 sessions: February 1, 8, 22; March 1, 8, 15; April 12, 19
Location: Young Israel of Brookline
Tuition: $130
New students welcome!

Tuesdays

Women’s Beit Midrash: Sefer Shmot (Exodus) with Nehama Leibowitz
Toby Goldfisher Kaplowitz
Level: 2-3

Join us in a beit midrash (study-house) setting as we delve into the intricacies of the Chumash (the Pentateuch) using the methodology created by the renowned teacher Professor Nehama Leibowitz. Class time includes chevrutah (partnered) study and group discussion of Nehama’s questions and answers. Toby Kaplowitz will facilitate our learning. Participants should bring a Chumash—Sefer Shmot (Exodus)—and Tanakh to class.

Tuesdays, 9:00 - 10:30 AM
8 sessions: February 2, 9, 23; March 2, 9, 16; April 13, 20
Location: Congregation Kadimah-Toras Moshe
Tuition: $130
New students welcome!

Modern Israeli Poetry and the Tanakh
Professor David Jacobson
Level: All

Contemporary Israeli poets have continued the midrashic tradition of retelling biblical stories. In their poetry, they explore new ways of understanding biblical stories, even as they discover connections between the events of Ancient Israel and those of the modern State of Israel. We will read a variety of biblical stories and discuss how Israeli poets adapt those stories in their poetry. Contemporary issues explored in these poems by means of retelling biblical stories include: the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Holocaust, relations between men and women, and the search for religious faith. Students should bring a Tanakh to class. Poems in the original Hebrew and in English translation will be provided.

Tuesdays, 8:00 - 9:15 PM
8 sessions: January 26; February 2, 9, 16, 23; March 2, 9, 16
Location: Congregation Shaarei Tefillah
Tuition: $130

Revolutionary Rabbis: Three Talmudic Sages and their Impact on Judaism
Rabbi Roy Rosenbaum
Level: All

This three-part series will focus on three great Rabbinic personalities who transformed Judaism and had a permanent impact on our religion: Hillel, Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai, and Rabbi Akiva. Because their innovations are so much a part of today’s Judaism, we lose sight of the fact that the principles these three men espoused were viewed as radical in their time. Our classes will review selected halakhic (legal) and aggadic (narrative) passages of the Talmud and Midrash to chart their struggles to implement change. Selections in translation will include materials from tractates Shabbat, Pesachim, Menachot, Ketubot, Gittin, and Brachot, as well as selections from the Midrash Rabbah and the Sifra. For our discussions of the destruction of the Second Temple and Bar Kokhba, we will also make use of external sources including Josephus and Dio Cassius.

Tuesdays, 8:00 - 9:15 PM
3 stand-alone sessions: April 13 (Hillel), 20 (Rabban Yochanan), 27 (Rabbi Akiva)
Location: Congregation Beth El-Atereth Israel
Co-sponsored by Congregation Beth El-Atereth Israel
Tuition: $18 per session
Open to men and women

Ma’ayan in Sharon
Shiv’im Panim LaTorah: From Pasuk (Verse) to Halakhah (Law)
Deborah Klapper
Level 2

We all know that there are many meanings encoded in every statement in the Torah, but what are the practical implications of this multiplicity? In this class, we will examine a variety of different ways that Chazal (our Sages) extract details and meaning from short and seemingly inadequate legal statements in the Torah. Each class meeting, we will look at examples of a different genre of midrash halakhah, examining the principles through which Chazal unzip the meaning of the Torah and how they use these principles to discover the halakhah. Texts will be provided in original and translation, but a full comprehension of the material will be easiest for those with some Hebrew.

Tuesdays, 8:00 - 9:15 PM
6 Sessions: January 26; February 2, 9, 23; March 2, 9
Location: Striar Hebrew Academy of Sharon
Tuition: $100

Wednesdays

Teshuvot (Responsa) that Changed the World
Rabbi Elliot Kaplowitz
Level: All

The study of Responsa literature opens a fascinating window into the history and development of halakhah (Jewish law) and the sociology of the Jewish community. It also provides students a unique perspective on leading rabbis in Jewish history. This six-week course will study modern Responsa that have had a profound impact on the contemporary Jewish community. Among others, we will consider Responsa that address the interplay between halakhah and secular law, the inclusion of non-observant Jews in communal life, the status of women, and co-education. Our studies will include Responsa written by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (the Sridei Eish) zt”l and others.

Wednesdays, 8:00 - 9:15 PM
6 Sessions: January 27, February 10, 24; March 3, 10, 17
Location: Home of Joyce Wertheimer
55 Rawson Road, Brookline, Mass.
Tuition: $100

Thursdays

“There Never Again Arose in Israel:” The Arc of Moshe’s Leadership
Karyn Spero
Level: All

This course will analyze Moshe’s leadership as it develops over the course of his years leading the Israelites through the desert. Examining parallel narratives in Sefer Shmot (Exodus) and Sefer Bamidbar (Numbers), we will explore changes both in the people’s attitude toward Moshe’s authority and in his own assessment of his leadership. Whereas Shmot emphasizes the people’s reliance on Moshe and their acceptance of his instruction, Bamidbar presents a more assertive nation in the stories of Tzelafhad’s daughters’ initiative and Korah, Datan and Aviram’s challenges to Moshe’s authority. Although his personal exclusion from the land of Israel will remain a tragic mystery, we will aim to reach an understanding of why Moshe’s tenure as leader could last only as long as the sojourn in the desert.

Thursdays, 10:15 - 11: 30 AM
8 Sessions: February 4, 11, 25; March 4, 11, 18; April 15, 22
Location: Young Israel of Brookline
Tuition: $130

Sundays

The Pesach Ushpizin
Rabbi Elliot Kaplowitz
Level: All

The Seder calls on us to use our imagination and creativity in making the story of Pesach come to life. Borrowing from the holiday of Sukkot, in this class we will explore the personalities and biographies of several “guests” or ushpizin whose presence at the Seder table will greatly enhance our Pesach experience. Through midrashic and halakhic sources, we will study the Rabbinic biographies of three characters: Eliyahu ha-Navi (Elijah the Prophet), who does make an appearance at the Seder; Yosef (Joseph), whose absence from the Seder is notable; and Serach bat Asher, a relatively unknown and perhaps unexpected Pesach guest.

Sundays, 8:00 - 9:15
Two stand-alone sessions: March 14 & 21
Location: Congregation Shaarei Tefillah
Tuition: $18 per session
Open to men and women

Sinai Then and Now: The Impact of Revelation
Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg
Level: All

In anticipation of Z’man Matan Torateinu, the traditional anniversary of God’s revelation at Sinai on Shavuot, this two-part series will explore the history and theology of revelation. We will consider questions regarding the evolution and authority of rabbinic law, the concept of machloqet (dispute), and Judaism’s stress on Torah study as an independent value. With an emphasis on primary texts and interactive discussion, this series will help you prepare yourself for kabbalat haTorah (receiving the Torah) on Shavuot.

Sundays, 8:00 - 9:15
Two stand-alone sessions: May 9 & 16
Location: Congregation Shaarei Tefillah
Tuition: $18 per session
Open to men and women