Summary and Schedule

An introduction to the structure and history of the Talmud, its basic assumptions and influence on modern Jewish practice.

  • Describe the structure and history of the Talmud.
  • Demonstrate how the Talmudic debate processes uses questioning to examine the implications of a general statement.
  • Describe examples of the diversity of halachic opinions in antiquity.
  • Identify examples of Talmudic conclusions showing up in modern practice.
  • Adopt different viewpoints and examine how pieces of evidence do or do not support those viewpoints.
  • Identify resources for continuing partnered or independent study.

Prerequisite

  • No previous experience with Talmud and no knowledge of Hebrew required!
  • Discussions will assume some familiarity with Jewish practices (e.g. mezuzah), liturgy (e.g. Shema), and Torah stories (e.g. ??).

The actual schedule may vary slightly depending on the topics and exercises chosen by the instructor.

Setup


Please bring paper and a pen or pencil. Handouts will be provided.