Classes

לרפואת אביגיל מלכה בת חנה יהודית

The three speakers will be:

Rabbi Dr. Darrell Ginsberg – Rabbi Ginsberg is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah and Director of Midreshet Amudim, both located in Modiin. He received his semicha fro Yeshivat Bnai Torah, and was a former rebbe at the Yeshiva Gedola of West Hempstead and Rambam Mesivta. Along with teaching young adults at Migdal and Amudim, he delivers multiple weekly shiurim to adults in both advanced Gemara and Fundamentals of Philosophy.

Dr. Julie Goldstein –  Dr. Julie Goldstein is Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Amudim, located in Modiin. Her teaching experience includes NYU, Ma’ayanot High School,  JLIC at UCLA, and nearly two decades of Jewish communal and adult education lectures. Dr. Goldstein received an MA in Jewish philosophy at YU and a joint PhD in medieval history and Judaic Studies at NYU. She is much sought after lecturer throughout Israel and overseas

Rabbi Jonathan Ziring – Rabbi Ziring is currently a R”am at Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah, located in Modiin.   He was the former Sgan Rosh Kollel of the Yeshiva University Torah MiTzion Beit Midrash Zichron Dov of Toronto and the Rabbinic Assistant of BAYT. He has semicha from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, and an MA in Jewish Philosophy from Bernard Revel Graduate School. He has previously been a member of the Kollel Gavoah at Yeshivat Har Etzion and a fellow at the Tikvah Fund.  He has taught in many contexts in the US, Canada, and Israel, focusing particularly on the Halachic Process.

This course will focus on the notion of ברית – Covenant, from a philosophical and theological point of view. We will trace its development from Tanach to contemporary times understanding its centrality in Judaism then and now. We will study the thought of modern day covenantal thinkers such as R. Yitz Greenberg, R. David Hartman, R. Jonathan Sacks, that in light of the Holocaust and the onset of modernity reassess, often radically, the meaning and implications of the covenant.

THIS COURSE IS BI-WEEKLY

This course will explore the divergent portraits of exile and diaspora presented in various works of Tanakh. Focusing primarily on the Books of Esther and Daniel’ the course will delve of identity, theology, nationhood, and the ever-evolving quality of ethnic and religious signifiers.

We will explore different Jewish life cycle events and religious practices and differentiate between “halacha” and “minhag”. We will discuss different customs from different places and try to answer, “Why we do what we do.”

Alternate weeks

We will study the collected prophecies of the Trei Asar – from Chavakuk through Malachi. As we explore the historical context of the prophets on the eve of destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, we will appreciate their unique nuances and personalities as well as their timeless religious messages. We will then proceed to focus on the last three prophets – Chaggai, Zecharia and Malachi who encourage and accompany the Shivat Tzion – the returnees to Yerushalayim after seventy years of loss of autonomy. Political, economic, and social challenges face the people as they attempt to rebuild the Mikdash and reestablish their communities in Judea. The prophets will address these issues through a religious perspective as they simultaneously rebuke and encourage. We will note the numerous parallels between their time period and our contemporary state as the timeless messages of the prophets come to life.

This semester we will study obscure issues in the Parsha. Every Parsha contains those unusual or difficult concepts, situations or expressions. Together we will try to make sense of these issue and come out with a deeper and more meaningful understanding of Torah and enhance our relationship to it.

Using the biblical text as its springboard, this course will explore themes in Sefer Bereshit that stand at the foundation of our human and Jewish experience of existence. Through the prism of traditional commentators, ancient and modern philosophers, contemporary psychologists and social commentators, it will address a variety of topics that arise in the book of Bereshit from Avraham onwards. The course will aim to provide a novel and holistic approach to the text that will leave us in no doubt as to the centrality and relevance of the Biblical exegesis to our lives today.

The course will focus on the halachic and philosophical aspects of various mitzvot relating to interpersonal relationships. Some of the topics we will cover – Personal dignity, Causing others to sin, Bearing a grudge and taking revenge as well as Visiting the sick and comforting mourners.

This course will explore the divergent  portraits of exile and diaspora presented in various works of Tanakh.  Focusing primarily on the Books of Esther and Daniel, the course will delve deeply into the impact of exile on issues of identity, theology, nationhood, and the ever-evolving quality of ethnic and religious signifiers.

Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, poet, physician, and Jewish philosopher, was an avid participant in the cross-cultural exchange between Jews and Arabs in Medieval Spain before he rejected this luxurious lifestyle and headed to the Land of Israel in search of spiritual fulfillment. Why did Halevi abandon the rich culture of Spain ? Did he ever look back with regret? What can we moderns, also caught between our own conflicted identities, learn from Halevi’s life experience and writings?

In this course, we will study Halevi’s seminal work, the Kuzari, along with his secular and religious poetry in order to gain insight into the rich spiritual world.

Hashem formed each element of Creation with its own unique verse. Each one has a specific message for us – a ‘Life Lesson’. Let’s study the verses that these 85 components of Creation – for example; the sun, mountains, pomegranates, swallows, elephants, spiders, lightening, grass and so many more – come to teach us.

This course will teach the basic skills necessary for Talmud study. It will present traditional and historical approaches to the material studied. The program will integrate guided Beit Midrash style chavruta study with class discussion.

In this course participants will analyze special topics in Sefer Bereshit from a Machshava perspective and the Halakhic ramifications that derive from it. Topics such as: the relationships between Man and nature, animal experiments, the image of God as a deciding factor in human dignity etc. The course will highlight the link between the world of Machshava and Halahka and the reciprocal relations between them.

The course will delve into the tool box of a Posek in the process of reaching a Halakhic ruling.
How does a Posek translate a given situation into Halakhic concepts he can use? What takes precedence in the process?
We will study a number of תשובות dealing with Charity, Shabbat and Community structures to work through the intricate process of a Psak .

A look at two different schools of Halakhic decision making – Sephardi and Ashkenazi – will help us understand how different models of Halakhic decision making greatly influenced Halakhic practice in different countries and communities and very much influence how Halakhic decisions are made today. Many contemporary topics will be dealt with but the most fascinating part of the course will be following the history of Halakha as it evolved very differently in two different parts of the Jewish world over the last centuries.

This course will explore the divergent portraits of exile and diaspora presented in various works of Tanakh. Focusing primarily on the Books of Esther and Daniel, the course will delve deeply into the impact of exile on issues of identity, theology, nationhood, and the ever-evolving quality of ethnic and religious signifiers.

In this course we will study a tractate of Talmud with a careful reading of the text coupled with a modern awareness of how the Talmud was redacted and how the Tannaim who lived in 200 C.E. interact with the Amoraim who lived from 200 to 450 C.E., to the final editing that brought these different layers into conversation around topics structured by the Mishna. It is a living and dynamic dialogue that encompasses Halakhic discourse, Aggadic interpretation of Torah and mundane topics that confront the sages on a daily basis. The breakdown of each sugya or unit of Talmud will help us appreciate the vastness of Oral Torah and how relevant it remains today.

Upon imminent entrance to the Land of Israel, Moshe Rabbenu teaches the nation the necessary lessons and commandments to establish a theocentric society as they shift to an agrarian-based lifestyle. We will examine the content and structure of his speech as we compare with previous teachings of mitzvoth and narratives in Shemot-Bamidbar. Textual skills will be employed and honed as we analyze the style and explanations of Moshe’s last lecture to Bnei Yisrael.

Suffused with unremitting passion, sublime poetry, and uncompromising principle, the book of Isaiah serves as an apt example of the enduring significance and exquisite composition of Biblical prophecy. In our study of Isaiah, we will explore Isaiah’s timeless religious and moral instructions, using Midrashim, classical Mefarshim, contemporary Biblical interpretation, and literary methods. In this section of Isaiah (chapters 40-66), we will endeavor to understand the prophecies within their historical context, namely, the exciting and promising period of Shivat Zion. By comparing Isaiah’s themes and language to other Biblical books, we will link Isaiah to the broader biblical tradition, in a bid to gain insights into the manner in which the period of Shivat Zion remedies the theological and political catastrophe that marked the Hurban and exile.

Learn and Tour Course: The Days of David: Dynasty & Destiny with Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, Rabbanit Shani Taragin and Shulie Mishkin

First Semester: Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

Second Semester: Rabbanit Shani Taragin

Tours led by Shulie Mishkin

Limited number of places