

A Taste of Maharat: Summer Learning 2023
July 10-August 11
See what all the buzz is about, and spend five weeks learning Maharat Torah and thought with our esteemed faculty. All classes will be taught on Zoom, and some may have hybrid in-person learning options. Open to all. Everyone is encouraged to register.
More information, including course descriptions, is available below.
Schedule
Mondays & Wednesdays | 7:15-8:45 pm ET
Level I Gemara: Skills Immersion Class
Rabbanit Tanya Farber
Mondays & Thursdays | 2:00-3:30 pm ET
Level II Gemara: Skills Immersion Class
Rabbanit Tanya Farber
Tuesdays | 1:30-3:30 pm ET
Nashim Mesolelot: Understanding the Halakhic Parameters of Sexual Intimacy between Two Women
Rabbi Jeffrey Fox
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
Thursdays | 12:30-1:30 pm ET
Kedushat Levi on the Weekly Portion
Rabbi Dr. Erin Leib Smokler
Tuesdays & Thursdays | 3:30-5:00 pm ET *June 19-July 25 - note different dates*
Tractate Avodah Zarah: Forbidden Foods
Rabbi Adam Mintz
Costs
Nashim Mesolelot, Drosh V’Kabel Schar, Kedushat Levi: $180
Gemara I, II, and Tractate Avodah Zarah: $250
Maharat Students & Alumnae: free (Use discount code YM on registration form)
Students: 50% discount (Use discount code STUDENT on registration form)
Financial assistance is available. Please contact Liz Offenbach.
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Questions?
Contact Rabbanit Tanya Farber.
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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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