[newsletter]
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
October 23, 2013
We will explore at least one instance in which Rashbam’s explanation is quoted by Hugh of St. Victor. How does Rashbam’s approach shed light on Rashi’s view of Christian Biblical commentary?
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
February 24, 2010
This lecture will examine the history of the Kabbalists in Safed and it will study the structure and themes of Lecha Dodi.
February 13, 2007
In the early 1930's Rabbi Tobias Geffen, the Orthodox rabbi in Atlanta, received some inquiries from colleagues whether Coca Cola was kosher.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
October 27, 2009
This lecture will examine several sources that describe synagogues in Israel and in the diaspora and analyze the role of these synagogues in the Jewish world of the time.
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
February 6, 2014
This lecture will explore S.D. Luzzatto's method of exegesis including his willingness to engage scholarly discussion of textual emendations and human involvement in Biblical miracles.
October 23, 2013
We will explore at least one instance in which Rashbam’s explanation is quoted by Hugh of St. Victor. How does Rashbam’s approach shed light on Rashi’s view of Christian Biblical commentary?
May 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
February 12, 2015
Yom Ha-Shoah was established by the Israeli Knesset in 1951 to be observed every year on the 27th day of Nissan.
January 7, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine a talmudic text that describes a prayer to angels that was recited upon entering the bathroom.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
May 22, 2014
This lecture will explore the goal of the Artscrolll translation of Megillat Esther and anthology and compare it to the earlier English translations.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
May 27, 2011
This lecture will focus on the biography of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the rosh yeshiva in Kletzk, Lithuania who escaped to the United States in 1941 and established the yeshiva in Lakewood, NJ.
November 16, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the interactions of the Jews in a southern Polish town in the first half of the 1600s.
May 27, 2011
This lecture will focus on the biography of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the rosh yeshiva in Kletzk, Lithuania who escaped to the United States in 1941 and established the yeshiva in Lakewood, NJ.
November 10, 2009
This lecture will study the history of the Reform innovations in the Siddur and compare the modern day Conservative and Reform siddurim with a brief reference to the new Modern Orthodox Koren Siddur.
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
November 11, 2015
Rambam writes that God created the world creation ex nihilo, from nothing. This lecture will explore whether this view was universally accepted by Greek philosophers and by Jewish thinkers.
February 2, 2016
In this lecture, we will try to understand Rambam's position and to present a position that disagrees with Rambam's description of Moshe.
October 29, 2013
This lecture will explore the lack of anti-Islam polemic in the writings of the ibn Ezra and the reasons for this phenomenon.
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
October 29, 2013
This lecture will explore the lack of anti-Islam polemic in the writings of the ibn Ezra and the reasons for this phenomenon.
March 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
November 13, 2011
This lecture will explore the transition from the Gaonic tradition of the Moslem period to the rabbinic tradition of the Ramban in Christian Spain.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
January 21, 2008
Prayer and Women: Shelo Asani Ishah. The Talmud requires that men recite recite a daily blessing each day thanking God that they "were not created a woman".
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
April 12, 2014
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a recording of my Shabbat Ha-Gadol Drasha entitled "The Choreography of the Haggadah: The Role of the Greek Chorus."
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
October 25, 2010
This lecture will study the use of halacha in the Book of Jubilees and explore the importance of this work in the history of halacha.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
May 12, 2009
This lecture will highlight the roles of Louis Brandies and Rabbi Joseph B.
May 22, 2014
This lecture will explore the goal of the Artscrolll translation of Megillat Esther and anthology and compare it to the earlier English translations.
January 30, 2007
Louis Ginzberg came to the United States in 1902 and spent 51 years at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a leading talmudic.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
January 30, 2007
Louis Ginzberg came to the United States in 1902 and spent 51 years at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a leading talmudic.
August 1, 2009
This shiur will explore the source material that discusses the issue of asking multiple rabbis the same question in order to receive a "satisfactory" response.
December 5, 2011
This lecture will explore the journey of each of these great rabbinic scholars through their lengthy commentaries on the Tur to their concise codes in the Shulhan Arukh.
May 27, 2011
This lecture will focus on the biography of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the rosh yeshiva in Kletzk, Lithuania who escaped to the United States in 1941 and established the yeshiva in Lakewood, NJ.
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
May 9, 2012
This lecture will explain several aspects of this yeshiva including the proposal to merge Mercaz with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
November 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
January 25, 2011
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
January 7, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine a talmudic text that describes a prayer to angels that was recited upon entering the bathroom.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
November 14, 2007
This lecture will explore the evolution of these laws and their application in modern times where assimilation and intermarriage remain a serious concern.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
May 23, 2017
How could this Jewish couple got into so much trouble? We will explore the background of the case and the attempts to have the verdict overturned.
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
March 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
January 30, 2008
This lecture will explore this material and analyze how this bracha has been interpreted throughout the centuries.
March 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
January 7, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine a talmudic text that describes a prayer to angels that was recited upon entering the bathroom.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore how the Jews responded to this crisis and how both the Reform and Orthodox movements redefined their views of the personal messiah.
January 26, 2016
In this lecture, we will trace the history of the concept of prophecy. Who is worthy to prophecy? What is the prophetic experience?
March 29, 2015
It gives me great pleasure to once again share with you my Shabbat Ha-Gadol drasha that was delivered at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim.
February 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
February 17, 2009
This lecture will focus on analyzing the Rambam's novel and potentially problematic interpretation of this principle of faith through the study of selections from his Commentary on the Mishnah, Moreh Nebuchim and Mishneh Torah.
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
November 14, 2007
This lecture will explore the evolution of these laws and their application in modern times where assimilation and intermarriage remain a serious concern.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
August 22, 2010
This lecture will examine the evolution of the history of the Torah text beginning with the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
February 12, 2013
This lecture will explore the manner in which European Jews viewed American Jewry in the years preceeding and during the Civil War.
November 29, 2016
What role did Frank's Judaism have in his conviction and lynching? Was he convicted because he was a Jew? In this lecture, we will examine the relevant documents to gain greater insight and understanding into this critical question.
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
February 17, 2009
This lecture will focus on analyzing the Rambam's novel and potentially problematic interpretation of this principle of faith through the study of selections from his Commentary on the Mishnah, Moreh Nebuchim and Mishneh Torah.
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
November 5, 2008
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
October 24, 2007
This lecture will analyze this issue through the halakhic and sociological evaluation of the question whether an intermarried Jew can be counted toward a minyan.
May 28, 2014
This lecture will explore the unique aspects of this translation and compare it wit the Orthodox Artscroll translation. Is this Etz Hayim translation really revolutionary or controversial within the traditional community?
October 29, 2013
This lecture will explore the lack of anti-Islam polemic in the writings of the ibn Ezra and the reasons for this phenomenon.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
April 12, 2014
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a recording of my Shabbat Ha-Gadol Drasha entitled "The Choreography of the Haggadah: The Role of the Greek Chorus."
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
February 17, 2009
This lecture will focus on analyzing the Rambam's novel and potentially problematic interpretation of this principle of faith through the study of selections from his Commentary on the Mishnah, Moreh Nebuchim and Mishneh Torah.
February 12, 2013
This lecture will explore the manner in which European Jews viewed American Jewry in the years preceeding and during the Civil War.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
December 13, 2006
In this class, we will study several examples of Modern Orthodox teshuvot and attempt to both present the methodology of these teshuvot and explain why Modern Orthodoxy has ceded this aspect of the process to others.
November 17, 2009
This lecture will study four nineteenth and twentieth century commentators and philosophers and examine how they address the meaning of prayer in an age of rationalism that is often centered on the individual rather than God.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
November 11, 2015
Rambam writes that God created the world creation ex nihilo, from nothing. This lecture will explore whether this view was universally accepted by Greek philosophers and by Jewish thinkers.
December 13, 2006
In this class, we will study several examples of Modern Orthodox teshuvot and attempt to both present the methodology of these teshuvot and explain why Modern Orthodoxy has ceded this aspect of the process to others.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the history of messianic speculation and the opposition to this movement and explain the rationale for each approach.
February 6, 2014
This lecture will explore S.D. Luzzatto's method of exegesis including his willingness to engage scholarly discussion of textual emendations and human involvement in Biblical miracles.
November 1, 2006
This class will analyze and compare the treatment of the Laws of Visiting the Sick as they are described in the Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch.
November 16, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the interactions of the Jews in a southern Polish town in the first half of the 1600s.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
February 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the history of messianic speculation and the opposition to this movement and explain the rationale for each approach.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
February 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
November 13, 2011
This lecture will explore the transition from the Gaonic tradition of the Moslem period to the rabbinic tradition of the Ramban in Christian Spain.
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
September 8, 2013
The title of the drasha was "White as Snow: Why is White the Color of Yom Kippur?" I hope you will enjoy the shiur and that it will provide some insight as we prepare for Yom Kippur.
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
January 27, 2013
This lecture will explore the establishment of private Jewish schools for girls in Vilna and St. Petersburg in the 1800s.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
February 13, 2007
In the early 1930's Rabbi Tobias Geffen, the Orthodox rabbi in Atlanta, received some inquiries from colleagues whether Coca Cola was kosher.
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
November 7, 2007
this lecture, we will explore two instances of this distinction. the rules of the lost object of a non-Jew and the law of a non-Jew's mistake in business.
April 28, 2015
JTS was founded in 1886 as a reaction to the Pittsburgh Platform of the Reform movement. The Seminary struggled in its early years to distinguish itself from both HUC and the Lower East Side Orthodox Jews.
November 11, 2015
Rambam writes that God created the world creation ex nihilo, from nothing. This lecture will explore whether this view was universally accepted by Greek philosophers and by Jewish thinkers.
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
May 6, 2015
The role of secular studies became a contentious issue and the resolution of this issue lies at the heart of the creation of Yeshiva College and then Yeshiva University.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will examine the origins of this belief and how it developed since 1948 as well as the religious opposition to this idea.
February 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
May 19, 2008
This lecture will explore the issue of these conflicting allegiances and their implication for the history of the Jews in Modern Europe.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
August 22, 2010
This lecture will examine the evolution of the history of the Torah text beginning with the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
February 17, 2009
This lecture will focus on analyzing the Rambam's novel and potentially problematic interpretation of this principle of faith through the study of selections from his Commentary on the Mishnah, Moreh Nebuchim and Mishneh Torah.
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
March 29, 2015
It gives me great pleasure to once again share with you my Shabbat Ha-Gadol drasha that was delivered at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim.
February 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
April 21, 2010
The lecture will explore the political, personal and communal influence of this Hasidic leader who was the most influential Hasid of the first half of the nineteenth century.
May 15, 2007
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
November 15, 2010
This lecture will explore three halakhic disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and analyze these disputes from a socio-religious context and in terms of their importance in the development of Jewish law.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
January 27, 2013
This lecture will explore the establishment of private Jewish schools for girls in Vilna and St. Petersburg in the 1800s.
February 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
May 8, 2007
This lecture will compare the history of the Jews of Riga and its German influence with the history of the Jews of Dvinsk which was included in the Pale.
February 3, 2015
This lecture will present three different rabbinic responses to this challenge; the approach of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the response of the members of the Hildesheimer Seminary inn Berlin and the reaction of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook.
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
April 22, 2013
The lecture will examine the narrative elements of each story and the characters described in each one as a model for the possible responses to the an oppressive ruling authority.
November 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
May 9, 2011
This lecture will utilize primary sources to present a taste of the Volozyn Yeshiva in its early days and to appreciate the unique approach to Torah study and to yeshiva administration that was introduced by Rabbi Haim of Volozhyn.
May 19, 2011
The Slobodka Yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Nosson Zvi Finkel in 1882 in a suburb of Kovno.
July 4, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of the earliest rules of decision making and the extra-halakhic considerations that help to determine the halakhah.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
January 25, 2011
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
September 8, 2013
The title of the drasha was "White as Snow: Why is White the Color of Yom Kippur?" I hope you will enjoy the shiur and that it will provide some insight as we prepare for Yom Kippur.
November 13, 2011
This lecture will explore the transition from the Gaonic tradition of the Moslem period to the rabbinic tradition of the Ramban in Christian Spain.
July 4, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of the earliest rules of decision making and the extra-halakhic considerations that help to determine the halakhah.
February 18, 2015
Following the Six Day War, there was a rabbinic debate whether it was appropriate the alter the text of Nahem, recited on Tisha Bav...
April 28, 2015
JTS was founded in 1886 as a reaction to the Pittsburgh Platform of the Reform movement. The Seminary struggled in its early years to distinguish itself from both HUC and the Lower East Side Orthodox Jews.
January 25, 2011
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
October 25, 2010
This lecture will study the use of halacha in the Book of Jubilees and explore the importance of this work in the history of halacha.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
November 11, 2015
Rambam writes that God created the world creation ex nihilo, from nothing. This lecture will explore whether this view was universally accepted by Greek philosophers and by Jewish thinkers.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
February 6, 2014
This lecture will explore S.D. Luzzatto's method of exegesis including his willingness to engage scholarly discussion of textual emendations and human involvement in Biblical miracles.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
February 27, 2007
The age of technology has introduced new and innovative ways to spread all types of information including halakhah.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
November 17, 2009
This lecture will study four nineteenth and twentieth century commentators and philosophers and examine how they address the meaning of prayer in an age of rationalism that is often centered on the individual rather than God.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
November 15, 2006
In this class, we will study and evaluate Rabbi Schicks' teshuvot on this topic and analyze his seemingly contradictory views on this subject.
November 29, 2016
What role did Frank's Judaism have in his conviction and lynching? Was he convicted because he was a Jew? In this lecture, we will examine the relevant documents to gain greater insight and understanding into this critical question.
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
January 29, 2014
In this lecture we will examine his sermons and try to decipher a pattern to his use of the Biblical texts and the message that he was trying to impart to the community.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
August 1, 2009
This shiur will explore the source material that discusses the issue of asking multiple rabbis the same question in order to receive a "satisfactory" response.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
December 29, 2014
Shabbetai Tzvi was the most famous false messiah in Jewish history. He declared himself messiah in the mid-seventeenth century and almost half of world Jewry believed in him. How did his followers react when he converted to Islam? The answer tells us much about Shabbatai Tzvi and how Jews react to internal crisis.
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
May 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the importance of each of these communities and the both the friction and cooperation that existed among the Jews of Berlin during this period.
March 29, 2015
It gives me great pleasure to once again share with you my Shabbat Ha-Gadol drasha that was delivered at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim.
February 3, 2009
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
December 5, 2012
The Responsa volume Besamim Rosh was published in 1793 by Rabbi Saul Berlin, a respected rabbinic scholar, and claimed to contain responsa...
October 20, 2015
The lecture will continue to explore the idea of belief in God. Why do Jews believe? We conclude with a study of Halevi and ibn Paquda on the reasons for belief in God.
August 15, 2009
This shiur will explore the sources on this topic which present a surprisingly expansive view of the rights of the posek in determining halakhis decisions
May 12, 2009
This lecture will highlight the roles of Louis Brandies and Rabbi Joseph B.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
November 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
November 15, 2010
This lecture will explore three halakhic disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and analyze these disputes from a socio-religious context and in terms of their importance in the development of Jewish law.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
November 22, 2016
The story and the role of the Jews in the tale highlights the complicated and important role of the Jews in the history of New York City.
May 23, 2017
How could this Jewish couple got into so much trouble? We will explore the background of the case and the attempts to have the verdict overturned.
November 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
November 15, 2006
In this class, we will study and evaluate Rabbi Schicks' teshuvot on this topic and analyze his seemingly contradictory views on this subject.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
October 20, 2015
The lecture will continue to explore the idea of belief in God. Why do Jews believe? We conclude with a study of Halevi and ibn Paquda on the reasons for belief in God.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
February 6, 2014
This lecture will explore S.D. Luzzatto's method of exegesis including his willingness to engage scholarly discussion of textual emendations and human involvement in Biblical miracles.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
May 28, 2014
This lecture will explore the unique aspects of this translation and compare it wit the Orthodox Artscroll translation. Is this Etz Hayim translation really revolutionary or controversial within the traditional community?
May 16, 2012
This lecture will explore the challenges and criticisms of the Hesder movement especially within certain segments of the Religious Zionist community.
November 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
December 29, 2014
Shabbetai Tzvi was the most famous false messiah in Jewish history. He declared himself messiah in the mid-seventeenth century and almost half of world Jewry believed in him. How did his followers react when he converted to Islam? The answer tells us much about Shabbatai Tzvi and how Jews react to internal crisis.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
December 29, 2014
Shabbetai Tzvi was the most famous false messiah in Jewish history. He declared himself messiah in the mid-seventeenth century and almost half of world Jewry believed in him. How did his followers react when he converted to Islam? The answer tells us much about Shabbatai Tzvi and how Jews react to internal crisis.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will examine the origins of this belief and how it developed since 1948 as well as the religious opposition to this idea.
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
May 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of this principle.
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
May 22, 2014
This lecture will explore the goal of the Artscrolll translation of Megillat Esther and anthology and compare it to the earlier English translations.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
January 21, 2008
Prayer and Women: Shelo Asani Ishah. The Talmud requires that men recite recite a daily blessing each day thanking God that they "were not created a woman".
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
January 21, 2008
Prayer and Women: Shelo Asani Ishah. The Talmud requires that men recite recite a daily blessing each day thanking God that they "were not created a woman".
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
May 19, 2008
This lecture will explore the issue of these conflicting allegiances and their implication for the history of the Jews in Modern Europe.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
February 23, 2011
This lecture will explore whether the rabbinic tradition was practiced in the western diaspora or whether they practiced a non-rabbinic form of Judaism during this period studying relevant Jewish and non-Jewish sources.
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
May 16, 2012
This lecture will explore the challenges and criticisms of the Hesder movement especially within certain segments of the Religious Zionist community.
November 15, 2010
This lecture will explore three halakhic disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and analyze these disputes from a socio-religious context and in terms of their importance in the development of Jewish law.
July 4, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of the earliest rules of decision making and the extra-halakhic considerations that help to determine the halakhah.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
February 26, 2014
This lecture will attempt to explain the complex set of factors that led Hoffmann to his understanding of the origins of both Biblical and talmudic law.
October 20, 2015
The lecture will continue to explore the idea of belief in God. Why do Jews believe? We conclude with a study of Halevi and ibn Paquda on the reasons for belief in God.
February 11, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
April 24, 2007
This lecture will explore the history of the Jews of Galicia and how the historical study of these communities has changed in recent years.
January 28, 2010
This lecture will analyze the evolution of these blessings from their private recitation in the home to their prime role as the beginning of the daily service.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
February 18, 2015
Following the Six Day War, there was a rabbinic debate whether it was appropriate the alter the text of Nahem, recited on Tisha Bav...
May 14, 2005
This lecture will examine the origins of this belief and how it developed since 1948 as well as the religious opposition to this idea.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
February 3, 2013
This lecture will explore the origins of this philosophy and the reactions to his activity. How was this debate a reaction to the challenges of modernity during this period?
November 29, 2016
What role did Frank's Judaism have in his conviction and lynching? Was he convicted because he was a Jew? In this lecture, we will examine the relevant documents to gain greater insight and understanding into this critical question.
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
January 25, 2011
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
August 22, 2010
This lecture will examine the evolution of the history of the Torah text beginning with the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
October 20, 2015
The lecture will continue to explore the idea of belief in God. Why do Jews believe? We conclude with a study of Halevi and ibn Paquda on the reasons for belief in God.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
October 29, 2013
This lecture will explore the lack of anti-Islam polemic in the writings of the ibn Ezra and the reasons for this phenomenon.
November 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
November 17, 2009
This lecture will study four nineteenth and twentieth century commentators and philosophers and examine how they address the meaning of prayer in an age of rationalism that is often centered on the individual rather than God.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
November 5, 2008
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
November 23, 2010
This lecture will explore this tradition and evaluate why not all views were accepted into the rabbinic discourse.
February 18, 2015
Following the Six Day War, there was a rabbinic debate whether it was appropriate the alter the text of Nahem, recited on Tisha Bav...
November 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
August 15, 2009
This shiur will explore the sources on this topic which present a surprisingly expansive view of the rights of the posek in determining halakhis decisions
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
May 8, 2007
This lecture will compare the history of the Jews of Riga and its German influence with the history of the Jews of Dvinsk which was included in the Pale.
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
January 21, 2008
Prayer and Women: Shelo Asani Ishah. The Talmud requires that men recite recite a daily blessing each day thanking God that they "were not created a woman".
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
August 22, 2010
This lecture will examine the evolution of the history of the Torah text beginning with the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
February 3, 2015
This lecture will present three different rabbinic responses to this challenge; the approach of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the response of the members of the Hildesheimer Seminary inn Berlin and the reaction of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook.
May 9, 2011
This lecture will utilize primary sources to present a taste of the Volozyn Yeshiva in its early days and to appreciate the unique approach to Torah study and to yeshiva administration that was introduced by Rabbi Haim of Volozhyn.
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
January 29, 2014
In this lecture we will examine his sermons and try to decipher a pattern to his use of the Biblical texts and the message that he was trying to impart to the community.
January 31, 2012
This lecture will explore the process by which the Rema's commentary on the Shulhan Arukh was accepted throughout Poland.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will examine the origins of this belief and how it developed since 1948 as well as the religious opposition to this idea.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
January 7, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine a talmudic text that describes a prayer to angels that was recited upon entering the bathroom.
February 3, 2009
This lecture will examine the story of Sinai and will compare the reading of the chapters in the Book of Shemot as explained through the eyes of the traditional commentaries and through the eyes of the modern Biblical scholars.
December 5, 2011
This lecture will explore the journey of each of these great rabbinic scholars through their lengthy commentaries on the Tur to their concise codes in the Shulhan Arukh.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
November 13, 2011
This lecture will explore the transition from the Gaonic tradition of the Moslem period to the rabbinic tradition of the Ramban in Christian Spain.
February 11, 2014
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, there were both German and Jewish scholars who began to claim that the second half of the Book of Isaiah...
February 6, 2014
This lecture will explore S.D. Luzzatto's method of exegesis including his willingness to engage scholarly discussion of textual emendations and human involvement in Biblical miracles.
November 15, 2006
In this class, we will study and evaluate Rabbi Schicks' teshuvot on this topic and analyze his seemingly contradictory views on this subject.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
August 31, 2010
This lecture will explore the commentary of the ibn Ezra on a number of these verses and will examine two super commentaries on the ibn Ezra that attempt to reconcile the ibn Ezra's commentary with the traditional view of Moshe's authorship of the Torah.
November 11, 2014
This lecture will explore if and how the plague was memorialized by European Jewry through an analysis of relevant ritual and historical material.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
This lecture will explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
November 10, 2009
This lecture will study the history of the Reform innovations in the Siddur and compare the modern day Conservative and Reform siddurim with a brief reference to the new Modern Orthodox Koren Siddur.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
July 4, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of the earliest rules of decision making and the extra-halakhic considerations that help to determine the halakhah.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
March 29, 2015
It gives me great pleasure to once again share with you my Shabbat Ha-Gadol drasha that was delivered at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim.
January 25, 2011
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
February 9, 2016
Rambam writes that anyone who rejects the belief that God dictated the entire Torah including the Oral Torah to Moshe is a heretic. How can we explain this extreme position of Rambam?
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
February 18, 2015
Following the Six Day War, there was a rabbinic debate whether it was appropriate the alter the text of Nahem, recited on Tisha Bav...
October 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
November 5, 2013
In this lecture, we will study Ramban's view on Midrash as reflected in his remarks at the Disputation of 1263 and in his Commentary on the Chumash.
May 12, 2009
This lecture will highlight the roles of Louis Brandies and Rabbi Joseph B.
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
November 13, 2011
This lecture will explore the transition from the Gaonic tradition of the Moslem period to the rabbinic tradition of the Ramban in Christian Spain.
February 6, 2007
Solomon Freehof created the genre or responsa literature within the Reform movement.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will examine the origins of this belief and how it developed since 1948 as well as the religious opposition to this idea.
January 30, 2008
This lecture will explore this material and analyze how this bracha has been interpreted throughout the centuries.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the history of messianic speculation and the opposition to this movement and explain the rationale for each approach.
February 15, 2012
This lecture will explore the approaches of Arukh Ha-Shulhan and Mishneh Brurah to halakhic codification during this period.
November 5, 2013
In this lecture, we will study Ramban's view on Midrash as reflected in his remarks at the Disputation of 1263 and in his Commentary on the Chumash.
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
December 29, 2014
Shabbetai Tzvi was the most famous false messiah in Jewish history. He declared himself messiah in the mid-seventeenth century and almost half of world Jewry believed in him. How did his followers react when he converted to Islam? The answer tells us much about Shabbatai Tzvi and how Jews react to internal crisis.
November 16, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the interactions of the Jews in a southern Polish town in the first half of the 1600s.
May 14, 2005
The messianism of Rabbi Nachman is one of the most fascinating stories in Jewish history. A great grandson of the founder of Hasidism who was born in 1772, he grew to become a major force within the Hasidic movement.
January 27, 2013
This lecture will explore the establishment of private Jewish schools for girls in Vilna and St. Petersburg in the 1800s.
November 5, 2013
In this lecture, we will study Ramban's view on Midrash as reflected in his remarks at the Disputation of 1263 and in his Commentary on the Chumash.
November 7, 2007
this lecture, we will explore two instances of this distinction. the rules of the lost object of a non-Jew and the law of a non-Jew's mistake in business.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
November 18, 2012
This lecture will explore the interplay between the rabbis and the community regarding deriving profit from non-kosher wine which the rabbis had declared to be forbidden.
May 9, 2011
This lecture will utilize primary sources to present a taste of the Volozyn Yeshiva in its early days and to appreciate the unique approach to Torah study and to yeshiva administration that was introduced by Rabbi Haim of Volozhyn.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
May 12, 2009
This lecture will highlight the roles of Louis Brandies and Rabbi Joseph B.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will examine the origins of this belief and how it developed since 1948 as well as the religious opposition to this idea.
February 6, 2007
Solomon Freehof created the genre or responsa literature within the Reform movement.
April 22, 2013
The lecture will examine the narrative elements of each story and the characters described in each one as a model for the possible responses to the an oppressive ruling authority.
November 15, 2006
In this class, we will study and evaluate Rabbi Schicks' teshuvot on this topic and analyze his seemingly contradictory views on this subject.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
October 24, 2007
This lecture will analyze this issue through the halakhic and sociological evaluation of the question whether an intermarried Jew can be counted toward a minyan.
January 31, 2012
This lecture will explore the process by which the Rema's commentary on the Shulhan Arukh was accepted throughout Poland.
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
May 19, 2011
The Slobodka Yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Nosson Zvi Finkel in 1882 in a suburb of Kovno.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
December 5, 2011
This lecture will explore the journey of each of these great rabbinic scholars through their lengthy commentaries on the Tur to their concise codes in the Shulhan Arukh.
April 18, 2016
Sharon joins me in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
January 25, 2011
This lecture will provide the background for the Jewish experience in Persia which began during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
May 19, 2011
The Slobodka Yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Nosson Zvi Finkel in 1882 in a suburb of Kovno.
February 26, 2014
This lecture will attempt to explain the complex set of factors that led Hoffmann to his understanding of the origins of both Biblical and talmudic law.
April 28, 2015
JTS was founded in 1886 as a reaction to the Pittsburgh Platform of the Reform movement. The Seminary struggled in its early years to distinguish itself from both HUC and the Lower East Side Orthodox Jews.
January 30, 2007
Louis Ginzberg came to the United States in 1902 and spent 51 years at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a leading talmudic.
February 13, 2007
In the early 1930's Rabbi Tobias Geffen, the Orthodox rabbi in Atlanta, received some inquiries from colleagues whether Coca Cola was kosher.
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
April 22, 2013
The lecture will examine the narrative elements of each story and the characters described in each one as a model for the possible responses to the an oppressive ruling authority.
August 1, 2009
This shiur will explore the source material that discusses the issue of asking multiple rabbis the same question in order to receive a "satisfactory" response.
May 18, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore the history of the idea of the Messiah and how it has been understood in the modern age.
October 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
November 15, 2010
This lecture will explore three halakhic disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and analyze these disputes from a socio-religious context and in terms of their importance in the development of Jewish law.
December 13, 2006
In this class, we will study several examples of Modern Orthodox teshuvot and attempt to both present the methodology of these teshuvot and explain why Modern Orthodoxy has ceded this aspect of the process to others.
August 15, 2009
This shiur will explore the sources on this topic which present a surprisingly expansive view of the rights of the posek in determining halakhis decisions
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
February 26, 2014
This lecture will attempt to explain the complex set of factors that led Hoffmann to his understanding of the origins of both Biblical and talmudic law.
May 19, 2011
The Slobodka Yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Nosson Zvi Finkel in 1882 in a suburb of Kovno.
May 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the importance of each of these communities and the both the friction and cooperation that existed among the Jews of Berlin during this period.
October 29, 2013
This lecture will explore the lack of anti-Islam polemic in the writings of the ibn Ezra and the reasons for this phenomenon.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
May 27, 2011
This lecture will focus on the biography of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the rosh yeshiva in Kletzk, Lithuania who escaped to the United States in 1941 and established the yeshiva in Lakewood, NJ.
November 29, 2011
When Rabbenu Asher, the leading rabbinic authority left Germany for Toledo in 1302, it brought an end to the creative rabbinic tradition in Germany.
May 19, 2008
This lecture will explore the issue of these conflicting allegiances and their implication for the history of the Jews in Modern Europe.
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
March 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
November 11, 2012
This lecture will explore the beginning of the breakdown of the effectiveness of the herem through the study of two cases in Hamburg in which Jews challenged the authority of the Rabbinic court by presenting their case to the Hamburg Senate.
May 19, 2008
This lecture will explore the issue of these conflicting allegiances and their implication for the history of the Jews in Modern Europe.
February 18, 2015
Following the Six Day War, there was a rabbinic debate whether it was appropriate the alter the text of Nahem, recited on Tisha Bav...
May 14, 2005
The messianism of Rabbi Nachman is one of the most fascinating stories in Jewish history. A great grandson of the founder of Hasidism who was born in 1772, he grew to become a major force within the Hasidic movement.
November 11, 2014
This lecture will explore if and how the plague was memorialized by European Jewry through an analysis of relevant ritual and historical material.
February 26, 2014
This lecture will attempt to explain the complex set of factors that led Hoffmann to his understanding of the origins of both Biblical and talmudic law.
February 12, 2013
This lecture will explore the manner in which European Jews viewed American Jewry in the years preceeding and during the Civil War.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
October 25, 2010
This lecture will study the use of halacha in the Book of Jubilees and explore the importance of this work in the history of halacha.
September 15, 2009
this lecture will focus on whether the posek has to consider changes in behavior or societal change.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
April 21, 2010
The lecture will explore the political, personal and communal influence of this Hasidic leader who was the most influential Hasid of the first half of the nineteenth century.
November 11, 2015
Rambam writes that God created the world creation ex nihilo, from nothing. This lecture will explore whether this view was universally accepted by Greek philosophers and by Jewish thinkers.
May 11, 2013
This lecture will explore the relationship of halakhah and aggadah and how the interplay between the two is crucial for an understanding of this story.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the history of messianic speculation and the opposition to this movement and explain the rationale for each approach.
February 6, 2007
Solomon Freehof created the genre or responsa literature within the Reform movement.
February 12, 2015
Yom Ha-Shoah was established by the Israeli Knesset in 1951 to be observed every year on the 27th day of Nissan.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
May 27, 2011
This lecture will focus on the biography of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the rosh yeshiva in Kletzk, Lithuania who escaped to the United States in 1941 and established the yeshiva in Lakewood, NJ.
May 14, 2005
This lecture will explore the history of messianic speculation and the opposition to this movement and explain the rationale for each approach.
November 9, 2015
Rambam claims that anyone who believes that God has a human form is a heretic. This lecture will explore the other opinions throughout Jewish history.
May 14, 2005
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
November 5, 2013
In this lecture, we will study Ramban's view on Midrash as reflected in his remarks at the Disputation of 1263 and in his Commentary on the Chumash.
May 28, 2014
This lecture will explore the unique aspects of this translation and compare it wit the Orthodox Artscroll translation. Is this Etz Hayim translation really revolutionary or controversial within the traditional community?
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
February 11, 2014
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, there were both German and Jewish scholars who began to claim that the second half of the Book of Isaiah...
January 29, 2014
In this lecture we will examine his sermons and try to decipher a pattern to his use of the Biblical texts and the message that he was trying to impart to the community.
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
November 23, 2010
This lecture will explore this tradition and evaluate why not all views were accepted into the rabbinic discourse.
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
February 11, 2014
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, there were both German and Jewish scholars who began to claim that the second half of the Book of Isaiah...
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
January 27, 2013
This lecture will explore the establishment of private Jewish schools for girls in Vilna and St. Petersburg in the 1800s.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
November 10, 2009
This lecture will study the history of the Reform innovations in the Siddur and compare the modern day Conservative and Reform siddurim with a brief reference to the new Modern Orthodox Koren Siddur.
February 23, 2011
This lecture will explore whether the rabbinic tradition was practiced in the western diaspora or whether they practiced a non-rabbinic form of Judaism during this period studying relevant Jewish and non-Jewish sources.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
May 9, 2011
This lecture will utilize primary sources to present a taste of the Volozyn Yeshiva in its early days and to appreciate the unique approach to Torah study and to yeshiva administration that was introduced by Rabbi Haim of Volozhyn.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
October 29, 2013
This lecture will explore the lack of anti-Islam polemic in the writings of the ibn Ezra and the reasons for this phenomenon.
November 5, 2013
In this lecture, we will study Ramban's view on Midrash as reflected in his remarks at the Disputation of 1263 and in his Commentary on the Chumash.
April 22, 2013
The lecture will examine the narrative elements of each story and the characters described in each one as a model for the possible responses to the an oppressive ruling authority.
October 27, 2015
This lecture will explore the history of Jewish approaches to Christianity. According to Rambam, God is One. Does Christianity violate this principle?
May 1, 2007
This lecture focuses on the role of the Vilna Gaon in the shaping of the religious personality of Lithuanian Jewry in the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
November 1, 2006
This class will analyze and compare the treatment of the Laws of Visiting the Sick as they are described in the Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
May 16, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the place of Arnold Rothstein in American History and in the History of Jews in America.
February 21, 2010
This lecture will explore the edict passed by the Duke of Mecklenburg in 1772 requiring the Jews to delay burial for three days.
February 18, 2016
This lecture will explore different midrashic traditions that claim that laws in the Torah will be null and void in the time to come, either the Messianic period or the era of the Resurrection.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
October 27, 2009
This lecture will examine several sources that describe synagogues in Israel and in the diaspora and analyze the role of these synagogues in the Jewish world of the time.
February 6, 2014
This lecture will explore S.D. Luzzatto's method of exegesis including his willingness to engage scholarly discussion of textual emendations and human involvement in Biblical miracles.
October 27, 2009
This lecture will examine several sources that describe synagogues in Israel and in the diaspora and analyze the role of these synagogues in the Jewish world of the time.
November 10, 2009
This lecture will study the history of the Reform innovations in the Siddur and compare the modern day Conservative and Reform siddurim with a brief reference to the new Modern Orthodox Koren Siddur.
February 17, 2010
This lecture will study the ramifications of this dispute through an analysis of the texts of the maariv service and a historical survey whether Jews actually davened maariv.
January 21, 2012
This lecture will explore whether the code of Rabbi Joseph Caro was immediately accepted as authoritative among the Jews of the Spanish diaspora.
January 28, 2010
This lecture will analyze the evolution of these blessings from their private recitation in the home to their prime role as the beginning of the daily service.
February 11, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
February 17, 2009
This lecture will focus on analyzing the Rambam's novel and potentially problematic interpretation of this principle of faith through the study of selections from his Commentary on the Mishnah, Moreh Nebuchim and Mishneh Torah.
February 27, 2012
This lecture will explore the fascinating biography of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz from his early life in Lithuania through his years as the rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak, Israel.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
January 27, 2013
This lecture will explore the establishment of private Jewish schools for girls in Vilna and St. Petersburg in the 1800s.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
October 18, 2009
This lecture will explore this topic through the lens of the tradition sources ans the analysis of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
February 17, 2014
Malbim was born in Poland and served as a rabbi in several communities prior to being selected as the rabbi of Bucharest in 1858. In Bucharest, he met with resistance...
September 8, 2013
The title of the drasha was "White as Snow: Why is White the Color of Yom Kippur?" I hope you will enjoy the shiur and that it will provide some insight as we prepare for Yom Kippur.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
February 3, 2013
This lecture will explore the origins of this philosophy and the reactions to his activity. How was this debate a reaction to the challenges of modernity during this period?
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
October 31, 2007
This lecture will explore both the halakhic and moral background of this issue and attempt to explain the relationship between halakhah and morality in this instance.
May 12, 2014
This lecture will explore the history of the JPS translations and the importance of the translations in the history of American Jewish culture.
February 24, 2009
this lecture, we will explore the three places in which the Rambam discusses the messiah. in his Commentary on the Mishna, the Mishneh Torah and the Epistle to Yemen.
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.