[newsletter]
September 12, 2010
This shiur will explore two sources, one from the Midrash and one from the Talmud, for the recitation of this line as an integral part of the daily Shema.
November 8, 2006
This lecture will explore two responsa. one written by Rashi and the other by the Rivash, the leading halakhic authority in Algiers in the fifteenth century who had escaped from Spain in 1391 after being forced to convert to Christianity.
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.
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.
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 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
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 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.
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
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.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
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 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.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
March 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
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.
November 8, 2006
This lecture will explore two responsa. one written by Rashi and the other by the Rivash, the leading halakhic authority in Algiers in the fifteenth century who had escaped from Spain in 1391 after being forced to convert to Christianity.
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.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
February 11, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
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 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 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.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
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.
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.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
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.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
November 8, 2006
This lecture will explore two responsa. one written by Rashi and the other by the Rivash, the leading halakhic authority in Algiers in the fifteenth century who had escaped from Spain in 1391 after being forced to convert to Christianity.
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
May 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of this principle.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
May 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
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.
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 5, 2010
This lecture will explore the Hasidic dynasties of Boyan and Bobov and analyze the reasons for their success in America.
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.
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 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
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 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
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.
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.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
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.
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 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
October 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
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 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
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, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
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 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
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.
March 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
November 26, 2012
In 1772, the Duke of Mecklenburg issued an edict requiring the Jews to wait three days after death prior to burial in order to prevent the premature burial of a live person.
May 16, 2012
This lecture will explore the challenges and criticisms of the Hesder movement especially within certain segments of the Religious Zionist community.
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.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
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?
May 15, 2007
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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 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 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
January 24, 2007
Rabbi Hirschensohn came to the United States in 1903 and served as the rabbi of Hoboken for over thirty years.
May 11, 2016
Rambam presents the principle of reward and punishment.
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 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth century.
May 15, 2007
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
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.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
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 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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.
November 23, 2010
This lecture will explore this tradition and evaluate why not all views were accepted into the rabbinic discourse.
November 26, 2012
In 1772, the Duke of Mecklenburg issued an edict requiring the Jews to wait three days after death prior to burial in order to prevent the premature burial of a live person.
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
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.
January 31, 2012
This lecture will explore the process by which the Rema's commentary on the Shulhan Arukh was accepted throughout Poland.
November 28, 2017
This lecture will examine four Jewish actors; John Garfield, Groucho Marx, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
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 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
May 12, 2009
This lecture will highlight the roles of Louis Brandies and Rabbi Joseph B.
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 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 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
May 15, 2007
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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 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 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
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 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
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."
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 6, 2007
Solomon Freehof created the genre or responsa literature within the Reform movement.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
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.
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.
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.
May 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of this principle.
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 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.
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
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?
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
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
January 6, 2014
In his lecture the history of Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC is brought to life.
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.
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 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
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.
May 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of 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.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
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 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
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.
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?
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
January 30, 2008
This lecture will explore this material and analyze how this bracha has been interpreted throughout the centuries.
October 28, 2014
This lecture will lay the foundation for the analysis of how Jewish thinkers addressed Jewish crisis and tragedy throughout the centuries.
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 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.
December 5, 2006
In this class, we will explore the methodology of these teshuvot and study three examples.
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.
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 23, 2013
The moment of eating the matzah and marror is one of the great highlights of the Jewish calendar.
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 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.
May 13, 2011
This lecture will also evaluate other factors that impacted the yeshiva in its final years.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
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 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.
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.
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.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
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.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
May 19, 2011
The Slobodka Yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Nosson Zvi Finkel in 1882 in a suburb of Kovno.
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.
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.
February 6, 2007
Solomon Freehof created the genre or responsa literature within the Reform movement.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
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 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
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.
January 31, 2012
This lecture will explore the process by which the Rema's commentary on the Shulhan Arukh was accepted throughout Poland.
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
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.
October 25, 2006
This lecture will address the history of codification and its importance in the history of Jewish law.
February 15, 2012
This lecture will explore the approaches of Arukh Ha-Shulhan and Mishneh Brurah to halakhic codification during this period.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
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.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
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 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 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...
May 18, 2009
This lecture will explore the development of both the Eastern European and Syrian communities in Brooklyn.
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.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
September 12, 2010
This shiur will explore two sources, one from the Midrash and one from the Talmud, for the recitation of this line as an integral part of the daily Shema.
May 15, 2007
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
March 1, 2011
This lecture will explore this tradition.
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
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 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 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?
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
May 9, 2017
Samuel Bronfman is one of the most successful Jews of the twentieth century.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
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.
June 3, 2008
This lecture will explore this history with a focus on the rabbinic tradition that developed in Aleppo during this period.
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 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
February 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
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, 2014
This lecture will explore if and how the plague was memorialized by European Jewry through an analysis of relevant ritual and historical material.
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 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...
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
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.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
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 19, 2011
The Slobodka Yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Nosson Zvi Finkel in 1882 in a suburb of Kovno.
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.
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 22, 2006
This class will study three teshuvot from this period.
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.
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.
February 4, 2011
This lecture will evaluate the Babylonian Jewish attitude to this religious and compare it to the Jewish attitude to Christianity.
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 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
April 12, 2011
The Function of Dayenu in the Haggadah.
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.
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.
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.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
May 12, 2009
This lecture will highlight the roles of Louis Brandies and Rabbi Joseph B.
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...
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
November 9, 2016
In this lecture, we will examine the story of Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity in Aragon in 1341.
April 28, 2010
This lecture will explore the debate between the leaders of the Hasidim and the Misnagdim concerning the practices of Hasidic prayer.
November 12, 2008
This lecture will explore the ways in which the traditional commentators address this issue.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth 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 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
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 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
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.
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 explore how the Jews responded to this crisis and how both the Reform and Orthodox movements redefined their views of the personal messiah.
The messianic movement that developed around Bar Kokhba in the second century CE reflects a critical moment in the early history of Jewish messianism.
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.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
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.
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.
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...
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
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.
February 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
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 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 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.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
January 27, 2013
This lecture will explore the establishment of private Jewish schools for girls in Vilna and St. Petersburg in the 1800s.
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 16, 2012
This lecture will explore the challenges and criticisms of the Hesder movement especially within certain segments of the Religious Zionist 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.
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?
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
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 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.
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, 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 3, 2009
This lecture will address the role of the synagogue following the destruction and the introduction of the Amidah during this period.
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.
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 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.
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 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 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 25, 2016
In this lecture, we will explore Rambam's true understanding of this principle.
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
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.
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
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.
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.
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.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
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 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.
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
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, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
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 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.
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 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
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.
April 14, 2010
This lecture will explore the origins of the Hasidic movement and the role of the Baal Shem Tov.
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.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
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.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
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 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
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.
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
October 19, 2010
This lecture will explore the meaning of this tradition.
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.
November 4, 2014
In 1096, the Crusaders entered Jewish cities in Germany and offered the Jews the choice of conversion to Christianity or death.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
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.
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.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
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.
November 14, 2017
This lecture will explore the World War II era in Hollywood through a study of the four films
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.
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 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 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.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
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.
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?
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.
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.
November 26, 2012
In 1772, the Duke of Mecklenburg issued an edict requiring the Jews to wait three days after death prior to burial in order to prevent the premature burial of a live person.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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 3, 2010
This lecture will explore the relationship between the Shema and its accompanying blessings.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
July 25, 2009
This lecture will explore the authority of an individual's posek and the posek of the community.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
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 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
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.
November 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
September 7, 2009
This lecture will explore the limits of the decision-making process.
January 31, 2012
This lecture will explore the process by which the Rema's commentary on the Shulhan Arukh was accepted throughout Poland.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
February 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
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.
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.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
November 21, 2011
This lecture will explore the history of the Mishneh Torah and the rabbinic reaction to it.
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.
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.
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.
April 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
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.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
November 7, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the early days of Hollywood
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.
May 26, 2008
This lecture will explore the Jewish community in London at the beginning of the twentieth 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.
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.
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 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.
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".
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
January 30, 2008
This lecture will explore this material and analyze how this bracha has been interpreted throughout the centuries.
February 11, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
February 14, 2011
This lecture will study specific examples in the Talmud's interpretation of Esther and parallel sources in Persian and Christian literature.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
November 29, 2006
this class, we will study and analyze three teshuvot of Rav Feinstein.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
November 7, 2011
This lecture will explore the transmission of Jewish learning and halakhah in Franco-Germany in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
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.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
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.
April 27, 2009
This lecture will study the history and the culture of this early American Jewish community.
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.
January 27, 2013
This lecture will explore the establishment of private Jewish schools for girls in Vilna and St. Petersburg in the 1800s.
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.
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
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.
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...
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
September 12, 2010
This shiur will explore two sources, one from the Midrash and one from the Talmud, for the recitation of this line as an integral part of the daily Shema.
April 9, 2017
Please enjoy the drasha and I join Sharon in wishing you and your families a chag kasher ve-sameach.
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 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.
March 3, 2009
This lecture will explore the various views of Jewish scholars concerning the exact nature of this phenomenon.
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 5, 2008
We will explore the evolution of the Kaddish and the different customs that were practiced in specific communities.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
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.
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.
May 2, 2012
This lecture will survey the history of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
October 15, 2013
In this lecture we will explore three examples of Rashi's commentary on the book of Breishit
October 19, 2006
The process of Jewish law has developed and evolved over the past three thousand years.
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.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
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 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.
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 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
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 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.
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
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 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.
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.
July 29, 2010
This lecture will explore four explanations for the relationship between the rabbinic interpolation of the Biblical texts and their literal meaning.
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 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?
February 10, 2009
This lecture will explore the history of the Jewish attitude towards praying to angels
October 25, 2012
This lecture will explore the stablishment of private minyanim in Lemberg, Galicia under the Habsburg rule.
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 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 22, 2015
This lecture will provide three snapshots of the history and religious culture of this institution.
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 explore the reasons that Jews were attracted to Shabbetai Zevi and how the Jews dealt with his apostacy and his death.
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 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 21, 2013
In 1864, Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans write a letter to Der Israelit asking for assistance on the following issue.
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.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
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.
November 8, 2006
This lecture will explore two responsa. one written by Rashi and the other by the Rivash, the leading halakhic authority in Algiers in the fifteenth century who had escaped from Spain in 1391 after being forced to convert to Christianity.
February 21, 2013
This lecture will explore how the Eastern European rabbinate addressed this issue; did they approve or disapprove of this phenomenon?
January 30, 2008
This lecture will explore this material and analyze how this bracha has been interpreted throughout the centuries.
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.
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.
October 29, 2010
This lecture will explore the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document and analyze their content.
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, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
July 18, 2009
In this shiur we will analyze the role of the minority opinion. Can a rabbi rely on this opinion?
November 23, 2010
This lecture will explore this tradition and evaluate why not all views were accepted into the rabbinic discourse.
November 7, 2017
In this lecture, we will explore the early days of Hollywood
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
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 11, 2008
This lecture will explore the history of this Mi Sheberach le-Cholim.
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 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.
October 20, 2009
This lecture will analyze several mishnaic sources and a source from the apocrypha that address this issue.
May 5, 2009
Cincinnati was one of the most important American cities in the second half of the nineteenth century
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
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
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.
April 23, 2013
This lecture will examine each of these versions in an effort to determine the structure and meaning of this story.
May 15, 2007
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
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.
January 21, 2015
In this lecture, we will explore how the rabbinic community responded to the massacres of 1648/49.
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 15, 2007
This lecture will explore this decisions and their impact in determining the future of Hungarian Jewry.
November 26, 2012
In 1772, the Duke of Mecklenburg issued an edict requiring the Jews to wait three days after death prior to burial in order to prevent the premature burial of a live person.
February 10, 2010
this lecture, we will try to make sense of the shemoneh esreh.
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.
October 17, 2007
Jews and Christians have engaged in religious dialogue and debate for the past two thousand years.
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.
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.
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.
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.
February 20, 2007
In this class we will study three teshuvot by Rabbi Henkin
November 11, 2013
In this lecture we will compare Rashi's commentary on Chumash with his commentary on Tehillim.
February 8, 2012
This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct.
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.
November 19, 2014
This lecture will explore the reasons for the Expulsion given by the Jews in the generation following the Expulsion.
February 18, 2008
The Kol Nidrei service begins with a declaration permitting the "sinners" to participate in the Yom Kippur service.
September 12, 2010
This shiur will explore two sources, one from the Midrash and one from the Talmud, for the recitation of this line as an integral part of the daily Shema.
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