Courtier, Commentator and Controversialist

Orah 06/05/12

Radical Rabbinic Ideas in Great Introductions

LSJS May – June 2012

From the LSJS Website

On this intriguing course, Rabbi Dr Harvey Belovski will investigate the often surprising and always challenging contributions made to modern Jewish thought by little-known introductions to classic works.

Discover how Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel rocked the boat by considering whether Devarim is a full part of the Torah.

See how Rabbi Avraham Bornstein – the founder and first Rebbe of the Sochatchover Hasidic dynasty – set tongues wagging by stating that learning Torah should be both pleasurable and enjoyable.

Explore how Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heller discussed how halachah has developed as the world around it changed.

You will also delve into other iconoclastic introductions by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, Rabbi Shimon Shkop and Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban) and ask how these redefined the parameters of traditional Jewish thought.

Course Outline

Torah Commentators’ Response to Modernity

JLE Apr – Jul 2012

Part 16: Shemini, Tazria & Metzora

Superficial Gossips, Self-Interested Crooks or Altruistic Visionaries?

LSJS April – May 2012

Session 1: The Text, Chazal and Rishonim 1

The Haggadah with the Abarbanel’s Commentary

JLE March 2012

Session 1: Ha Lachma

Transformational Ideas, Foods and Songs

LSJS 12/03/12

1: Balancing Celebration with Commemoration

2: Thematic Foods

3: Monotheism against Manichaeism

Tolstoy, the Ishbitzer and Dostoevsky in Search of Authenticity

Yeshiva University, NY 09/02/11

Discover how Jewish Law is meeting the Challenges of Cyberspace

LSJS Jan – Mar 2012

From the LSJS Website:

The Internet and the inexorable growth of modern technology have produced some fraught and fascinating dilemmas for Jewish law.

Just what exactly do modern halachists have to say about issues of copyright law in cyberspace?

What are their sometimes controversial rulings on software pirating, downloading music and surfing the Net using a neighbour’s connection?

Find out what the law is about automated commerce on Shabbat and shared ownership in shady businesses.

Explore the possibilities when it comes to balancing religious obligations with the modern realities of Internet commerce.

On this course you will:

Consider whether halachah recognises intellectual property and other intangibles

Examine an acrimonious copyright dispute that made Jewish legal history

Discuss how halachah views the ‘pirating’ of music, videos and software

Wrestle with the ‘eBay dilemma’ – the auction that ends on Shabbat

Compare a man convicted of ‘piggy-backing’ on a Wi-Fi connection with his 3rd-century counterpart

Course Outline

Torah Commentators’ Response to Modernity

JLE Jan – Mar 2012

Part 8: Mikketz, VaYigash & VaYechi

King David, Bathsheba and the Conundrum of Psalm 51

LSJS 14/12/11

 

Divine Justice and the Suffering of the Righteous

LSJS 07/12/11

The Heart or the Head?  Rebbe Nachman v. Rav Soloveitchik

LSJS 30/11/11

A Multi-Layered Adventure

LSJS November – December 2011

Torah Commentators’ Response to Modernity

JLE Oct - Dec 2011

Part 1: Introduction, BeReishit & Noach

When Sasson met Simchah and the Dangers of Inspiration

Bnei Akiva Yoni Jesner Memorial Event 18/10/11

Sukkot, Innovation and Self-Mastery

JLE 11/10/11