Torah She’be’al Peh

In Torah She’be’al Peh we learn the rabbinic texts, traditions, and laws that are derived from and layered upon the Torah. We explore the underlying values of our laws and rituals; how to weigh competing values; what type of an individual the Rabbis encourage us to be; what type of community the Rabbis encourage us to create; what it means to be a Jewish adult; and how Jewish law and ritual have evolved from the Torah until today. Students learn texts from our Rabbinic tradition over time, including Mishnah, Talmud, the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides, the Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Yosef Karo, and contemporary practices and conversations. They learn to understand and employ Rabbinic logic; expand their vocabulary of key terminology; become more knowledgeable and fuller participants in ritual; and reflect on their own Jewish identities within the context of the larger Jewish community. Subjects include the holidays, human dignity, Tzedakah, visiting the sick, the laws of lost objects, pluralism, designing communities of Hesed, and Shabbat. A culminating Moot Beit Din program enables students to apply Talmudic and rabbinic thinking to a modern day problem.

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Tefillah

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Art and Music