Course Catalogue 2014-2015 Year
Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus
Talmud Be’Iyyun: Tractate Ketubot
The first chapter of Ketubot is one of the most fundamental conceptual chapters in the Bablyonian
Talmud. We will study the various topics that appear in this chapter in weekly meetings, from hazakah
to safek to some sheva berakhot Torahs!
Introductory Talmud Class
Never studied Talmud before? This class is for you! We will study the fundamental skills needed for
Talmud, working through the text closely, while providing some general guidance and answered basic
questions as to what the Talmud is and how it functions.
Reasons for the Commandments: Parsha Edition
Throughout Jewish history, many philosophers, halakhists, and exegetes have scrutinized the various
Biblical commandments with an eye towards understanding the reasons for the commandments
(Ta’amei Mitzvot). We will choose one such Mitzva a week, connected to the Parsha, and approach it
from multiple perspectives and angles.
20th Century Orthodox Philosophers on Halakha and Ethics
With the advent of the modern age, questions regarding the relationship between Halakha and Ethics
came to the fore. In the 20th century, multiple Orthodox philosophers attempted to tackle these issues
throughout a variety of texts. We will study the approaches of Rabbis Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Eliezer
Berkovitz, Professors Yeshaya Leibowitz, Emmanuel Levinas, and others.
Analyzing Prayer (Iyyun Tefilla)
Why do we pray what we pray? What do the prayers mean? And what is their source? This class runs
through the various prayers that are part of the daily and weekly liturgy, looking at their literary basis,
religious meaning, and various halakhic aspects.
Legal Theory and Jewish Law
Halakha, or Jewish law, claims a heritage of one of the oldest Western legal systems, with a rich and
longstanding legal tradition. We will explore various meta-Halakhic issues – What is Halakha? How is it
adjudicated? What are the various bodies of Jewish law? – in this course, assisted by the lens of legal
theory .
Just War Ethics in Jewish Thought
In our complicated world replete with asymmetrical conflicts, contemporary philosophers scramble to
discover methods of setting out what is just in the context of war. In this course we will analyze some of
that literature alongside Jewish treatments of just war, both ancient and contemporary.
Topics in Jewish Political Theory
Largely excluded from political power over the past two millennia, some have questioned whether
Judaism has anything of substance to say about political theory. Happily, studies in recent decades have
begun to explore both contributions that Jewish tradition has made to political theory and material
within Jewish tradition that can be helpfully situated alongside traditional treatments of political theory.
This class will begin to enter some of these exciting and largely neglected Jewish perspectives on the
political.
Tanakh Shiur: The Book of Ezra
Ezra the Scribe presides over a return to the Land of Israel and reconstruction of the Temple in a time of
great political tension among the various local populations. We will analyze this biblical book from both
a literary and historical perspective, while keeping an eye on parallels to contemporary phenomena.
Hilkhot Shabbat
“More than the Jews kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept the Jews.” But how exactly does one keep the
Sabbath? This class will take a practical perspective to many of the Sabbath positive and negative
commandments and function as a how-to guide for keeping the Sabbath. Should be informative for
every level of prior knowledge.
Hilkhot Kashrut
“Is it Kosher or is it Treif?” One of the most significant areas of Jewish Law is that of Kashrut, including
determining Kosher animals, separation of milk and meat, and various other prohibitions. We will
analyze many of these laws from a practical perspective.
Contemporary Topics in Halakha
As technology advances, Jewish Law needs to respond to an ever-increasingly complicated set of
realities. This class covers some of those issues, such as the status of electricity, the international date
line, and virtual space.
Sacrifice
From Akeidat Yitzhak to the Book of Leviticus to the Order of Kodashim in the Talmud, sacrifice takes up
an important position within Judaism. In this class we will analyze various themes presented through
Biblical and Rabbinic perspectives on sacrifice.