Hadar's Summer Community Beit Midrash
Did Moses do exactly what God commanded him? Do our prayers influence God? Is the value of human life paramount? Explore these questions and more at Hadar's Summer Community Beit Midrash. The Yeshivat Hadar faculty will offer classes on a variety of topics, including Talmud, Tanakh, theology. Each week, we will offer a beginner's level class (texts with translation) and an advanced level (texts in original) class. Come for one session or many sessions.
6 Tuesday nights: June 17-July 22
7:30-9:00pm
$5 per session, $25 for the series
Email learning@kehilathadar.org for more details.
Yeshivat Hadar is located at 190 Amsterdam Avenue (at 69th Street)
June 17:
Beginner:
"Dibrah Torah Kilshon Bnei Adam – The Torah Speaks in Human Language"
Taught by Sara Labaton
In this class, we will study an important principle of interpretation (Dibrah Torah Kilshon Bnei Adam) used originally in the Midrash and subsequently in the Talmud, Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed and A.J. Heschel's work on rabbinic theology. We will specifically take note of how the meaning and scope of this principle has changed and expanded over time, and ask whether this mode of interpretation carries any religious implications for us today.
Advanced:
Is the Value of Human Life Paramount?
Taught by Rabbi Ethan Tucker
It is commonly assumed that value of human life trumps all other concerns in Jewish life. After a brief introduction, we will explore a sugya from the 8th chapter of Yoma that suggests a more subtle picture. Working in the original, we will look carefully at the different layers of the Talmudic sugya in an effort to uncover the range of warring values at work in this ancient conversation, a conversation that remains relevant until today.
June 24:
Beginner:
Magic and Incantation - Hazal's Ambivalence about Non-Jewish Prophecy Taught by Shoshana Cohen
In the Bible and especially in later Biblical interpretation, Bilaam is considered the paradigm of the non-Jewish prophet. This class will explore a history of interpretation that is ambivilant with regard to the character of Bilaam, but more importantly with the very concept that a non-Jew could even be a prophet in first place.
Advanced:
God's Land, Human Time
Taught by Jason Rubenstein
How should we think about the economic, religious, and political implications of the Biblical agricultural cycle for contemporary Israeli life? This class will use Biblical, Talmudic, and medieval sources to develop the diversity of opinions formulated in canonical Jewish sources and their potential contemporary relevance.
July 1:
Beginner:
Infinite Responsibility?
Taught by Nina Redl
Emmanuel Levinas is one of the most widely discussed Jewish philosophers of our time. His concept of responsibility towards the Other goes way beyond Kant and Buber. Is it liveable? Come and explore a short intro into the thinking of Levinas.
Advanced:
Breaking a Leg for God: How Much Must One Sacrifice While Performing Ordinary Mitzvot?
Taught by Shmuel Kadosh
To what extent does the halakha demand that a Jew incur serious harm (short of death) in order to keep its dictates? On August 22, 1963, Ruth Friedman and Jack Katz, two counselors on their day off from camp, went on a hike at the Belleayre Mt. Ski Center in the Catskills. They took the ski lift to the top of the mountain, and hiked there most of the day. On their way back down, the ski lift stopped, leaving Jack and Ruth stranded on the ski lift. Concerned about violating the Jewish law prohibition against the seclusion of men and women (Yichud), Ruth jumped off the ski lift, breaking both her legs. (See Friedman v. State, 282 N.Y.S.2d 858 (N.Y. Ct. Cl. 1967)) In this class, we will examine Ruth's decision to jump, both from the perspective of normative Jewish law and in a broader discussion about the tension between Divine Will and human need.
July 8:
Beginner:
Why is the "Silent Amidah" Silent? The Use of Voice in Prayer
Taught by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
In this session we will explore the performance of the Amidah in contrast to the Shema. How does the way we say a prayer influence our experience of the Divine? What are the radical elements encoded in the Jewish method of davening?
Advanced:
"And Moses Did Exactly as the Lord Commanded Him?"
Taught by Steven Exler
The Bible, as a document which exposes Moses' conversations with God and with Israel, often leaves glaring incongruities -- times where Moses says things of which we have no record of his being commanded, and times where we have no record of his delivering God's word to Israel. How do we make sense of these gaps? Are they random? Specific? What are they trying to teach us about communication and the Torah?
July 15:
Beginner:
To Pray or Not to Say, That is the Question
Taught by Rachel Friedrichs
We will be exploring a talmudic passage from Tractate Yoma that asks the question whether we can be expected to recite prayers that we don't mean. During the shiur we will be comparing some biblical passages and getting some insight into the formulation of the Amida prayer.
Advanced:
Sharing Shares of Eternity
Taught by Jason Rubenstein
The background and meanings of a remarkable and moving "spiritual contract", whose signatories, a group of Jewish mystics living in the land of Israel, promised to share their eternal portions in the World To Come with one another.
July 22:
Beginner:
My Soul Thirsts for God: Exploring Psalm 63
Taught by Rabbi Shai Held
In Psalm 63, the psalmist expresses the hunger of his body and soul for intimacy with God. In this session, we'll explore this wonderfully suggestive text from a literary and theological perspective.
Advanced:
"Biblical Stories" - The Photographic Works of Contemporary Israeli Artist Adi Nes
Taught by Shoshana Cohen
Adi Nes is a contemporary Israeli artist famous for his photographs of Israeli soldiers and boys. His series "Biblical Stories" is a fascinating visual interpretation of some of the most compelling Biblical narratives. This class will explore Nes' photographs as a mode of interpretation, using them to shed new light on old tales.