Course Descriptions

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Mondays & Wednesdays | 7:15-8:45 pm ET

Level I Gemara: Skills Immersion Class

Rabbanit Tanya Farber

Study Chapter 8 of Bava Kama, HaChovel which delves into the monetary payments for personal injury. This chapter opens by exploring the connection between Oral Law and Written Torah Law. Our focus will be parsing, translating, gaining Aramaic vocabulary, reading skills, and familiarity with Talmudic arguments and following the flow of the sugya. Students are encouraged to prepare materials in between classes and purchase a hard copy of the chapter and a Frank Dictionary. Students have the option to participate in a virtual beit midrash for seder. 

Skill Level: Proficiency in Biblical/Mishnaic Hebrew. There will be an initial consultation with the instructor to ensure this class is appropriate for each student’s skill level.

This class meets twice per week. The class will be taught on Zoom, but in-person learning hybrid learning may also be available.

Mondays & Thursdays | 2:00-3:30 pm ET

Level II Gemara: Skills Immersion Class 

Rabbanit Tanya Farber

Explore topics in  Chapter 8 of Bava Kama, HaChovel that examine the monetary payments for embarrassment, pain, and the hardly quantifiable aspects of personal injury. In addition to gaining skills in parsing, and translating the gemara, we will focus on the structure of sugya and also practice reading some Rishonim. Students are encouraged to prepare materials in between classes and purchase a hard copy of the chapter and a Frank Dictionary.    

Skill Level: Proficiency in Mishnaic Hebrew, Experience and moderate competence in reading and translating gemara. There will be an initial consultation with the instructor to ensure this class is appropriate for each student’s skill level.

This class meets twice per week. The class will be taught on Zoom, but in-person learning hybrid learning may also be available.

Tuesdays | 1:30-3:30 pm ET 

Nashim Mesolelot: Understanding the Halakhic Parameters of Sexual Intimacy between Two Women

Rabbi Jeffrey Fox

This course will be an in depth analysis of the key sources that serve as the backbone for the teshuva I have written on this topic. We will begin with a careful unpacking of the texts of the Rabbinic period and work systematically through the modern age. Sources will be studied in the original and be available in translation. Please join with an open mind and an open heart – hateful language will not be tolerated. Open to all learning levels.

The class will be taught on Zoom, but in-person learning hybrid learning may also be available.

Wednesdays | 1:30-2:45 pm ET 

Drosh V’Kabel Schar (Delve into Midrash and be Rewarded): Finding Meaning in Contemporary Israeli Women's Midrash 

Rabbanit Dr. Liz Shayne

In this series, we will look at a selection of contemporary midrashim written by Israeli women to understand how they comment on, rework, and derive inspiration from the texts on which they are based. Taken from the two volumes of Dirshuni, these midrashim engage with Tanakh and Talmud using the traditional language and approaches of midrash, but bring the perspective of their writers to what the midrashim can say. Over these weeks, we will dive deeply into a few different midrashim, read them alongside the sources they draw on, and study how they interpret Jewish texts in ways that are simultaneously innovative and grounded. Open to all learning levels.

The class will be taught on Zoom, but in-person learning hybrid learning may also be available.

Thursdays | 12:30-1:30 pm ET

Kedushat Levi on the Weekly Portion 

Rabbi Dr. Erin Leib Smokler

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (1740-1809), the Berdichever Rebbe, was a student of the Maggid of Mezritch and an anchor of Polish Hasidism. Known for his compassion for all and defense of all before God, his teachings in the Kedushat Levi radiate spiritual insight and interpersonal pathos. Come learn the weekly portion through his eyes. Open to all learning levels.

The class will be taught on Zoom.

Tuesdays & Thursdays : 3:30-5:00 pm ET *June 19-July 25 - note different dates*

Tractate Avodah Zarah: Forbidden Foods

Rabbi Adam Mintz

Explore the pages of Avodah Zarah and its discussion of foods forbidden because of their association with non-Jews. We will use traditional Talmudic analysis together with modern academic research to analyze and explore these texts and apply them to real-life situations. No background is necessary. The class will be taught on Zoom.

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