Books

Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Books resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.

Conversion in Responsa Literature (Part 6): Should a Male Beit Din be Allowed to Watch Women Immerse?

Rabbi Adam Mintz

Class

16 | Rabbinic Letters

Dr. Marc Shapiro

Welcome to a Jewish History Uncensored with Dr. Marc Shapiro. This season we are covering the story of Dr. Shapiro’s most recent book.–a collection of letters from some of the great Rabbinic figures of our day. The correspondences between Dr.…
Podcast

Conversion in Responsa Literature (Part 6): Should a Male Beit Din be Allowed to Watch Women Immerse?

Rabbi Adam Mintz

Please note that this class is taking place at 11:00 AM Eastern time, 5:00 PM Israel time due to the time change
Class

Mishnah to Maggid (Part 5): Is Nirtzah Really a Step of the Seder?

Yosef Lindell

The Seder ends when we drink the fourth cup of wine. But then there’s another “step,” Nirtzah, which is a curious collection of songs. We will explore this final, enigmatic section of the Haggadah and weigh in on whether the Seder really has steps…
Class

Mishnah to Maggid (Part 4): Why Don’t We Talk More About the Korban Pesach at the Seder?

Yosef Lindell

Following the destruction of the Temple, our Sages grappled with how to have Pesach without its central feature, the Pesach sacrifice. The way they reconstructed the Seder is somewhat surprising, focusing on the story of the Exodus and not on…
Class

Mishnah to Maggid (Part 3): Why is the Seder So Disorderly?

Yosef Lindell

For a ritual that means “order,” the Seder is remarkably disorganized. The Haggadah does not tell a coherent version of Exodus story and is missing significant parts of the tale. Yet maybe this is a feature, not a bug. We will explore several…
Class

Mishnah to Maggid (Part 2): How Many Questions are in Ma Nishtana? Are They Even Questions?

Yosef Lindell

Everyone knows the Ma Nishtana. But figuring out how many questions are being asked, or if they were really meant to be questions at all, is an interpretive puzzle that remains unsolved. Nevertheless, it helps us understand what the storytelling in…
Class

Mishnah to Maggid (Part 1): Are You a Karaite If You Leave Out Avadim Hayinu?

Yosef Lindell

In the 800s, Rav Natronai Gaon in Babylonia polemicized against what he called a Karaite version of the Haggadah that was missing the paragraph of Avadim Hayinu andother sections. But discoveries in the Cairo Genizah upended everything we thought we…
Class

From the Mishnah to Maggid: Case Studies in the Development of the Haggadah

Yosef Lindell

Mondays March 10 - April 7 (5 weeks)1:00 PM Eastern time, 8:00 PM Israel time (7:00 PM Israel time for March 10, 17, 24) Every year we read the Haggadah at the Seder, and every year we ask the same questions about it. We wonder about the same odd…
Program

15 | Rabbinic Letters

Dr. Marc Shapiro

Welcome to a Jewish History Uncensored with Dr. Marc Shapiro. This season we are covering the story of Dr. Shapiro’s most recent book.–a collection of letters from some of the great Rabbinic figures of our day. The correspondences between Dr.…
Podcast