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The Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus School
 Learning AggadataWe will engage in close study of selected aggadatot in Masechet Shabbat devoting each class to an analysis of at least two sugyot in the Talmud. We will make use of historical, philological, literary, philosophical and spiritual insights of the great masters of aggadah in classical commentaries in the Ein Yaakov, the Maharal, and Rav Kook as well as the writings of modern scholars such as Joseph Heineman, Ephraim Urbach, Yonah Frankel, Avigdor Shinan, Emanuel Levinas, and Jeffrey Rubenstein Nathaniel Helfgot Monday, 7:45 – 9:15 p.m. 8-week course: October 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24, December 1, 8, 15 Tuition: $300  Women in the CourtroomIn rabbinic literature, we are often presented with legal disputes between rabbis or laypersons or both. But the courtroom is not purely a legal space in the Talmud and midrashim; much social, legal, and communal discourse also takes place here. We will explore the case of women who enter the courtroom, looking at the ways in which the rabbis imagined women, and the rabbinic ability to provide justice for those without a legal voice (or with a weaker legal voice). Shira Billet Monday, 7:45 – 9:15 p.m. 2-week course: December 8, 15 Tuition: $80 Masechet Berachot as a Guide for the Aggadic JewWe will explore and discuss selected Halakha and Aggada portions of Gemara Berachot as the literature of Jewish self, communal and theological development. We will analyze the text, its underlying assumptions, background concepts, metaphor, literary nuance, imagination and guidance in human potential and relationships with oneself, others and God. We will not focus on the Halakhic “to do”, but rather, who might we become. Joe Septimus Tuesday, 7:45 – 9:15 p.m. 8-week course: October 28, November 4, 11, 18, 25, 2, 9, 16 Tuition: $300 Constructing Context: The Juxtaposition of Halakha and NarrativeRabbinic Literature incorporates a panoply of focused legal debates, discussions of everyday occurrences, and occasional fantastical tales of unusual events. How do these various components relate to one another and why would an editor juxtapose them? How is the meaning of each genre affected when it "runs up" against the other? We will study several paradigmatic occurrences of such juxtapositions in mishnaic and talmudic literature, in an attempt to enter into a world wherein halakha and narrative" function as one form rather than two. Jonathan Kelsen Wednesday, 7:45 – 9:15 p.m. 7-week course: October 29, October 5, 12, 19, December 3, 10, 17 Tuition: $300 The following Talmud classes are listed in order of increasing difficulty.  Introduction to Rabbinic LiteratureThis course will introduce students to the world of Talmudic literature. By studying selected texts, students with little or no background in classical Jewish texts will become familiar with Talmudic vocabulary and ideas. Moreover, students will gain an understanding of the cultural, literary, and historical contexts of these texts. Please contact Jordana Golden at jgolden@drisha.org or 212.595.0307 to register. Jenny Labendz Tuesday, Thursday, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. 11-week course: September 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, October 28, 30, November 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, December 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18 Tuition: $900 Intermediate Talmud: All About Weddings: Ketubot, Chapter 1 When is the best time of the week to get married? How much credibility does a woman have to testify about her relationships? What are the obligations of a husband and wife? We will study the first chapter of Ketubot and explore these issues as well as other issues related to the wedding ceremony and marriage. Tamar Tanner Monday, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. 11-week course: September 8, 15, 22, October 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24, December 1, 8, 15 Tuition: $400 |
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