Course Descriptions Summer 2026 | 5786

2 Intersession Courses – 2 sections each, register for only one, see schedule

2. PRO 428 Leadership in Jewish Nonprofit and Synagogue Settings
Noam Gilboord
This intensive two-day course prepares students to navigate and lead within Jewish nonprofit organizations (including synagogues). Through case studies, guest practitioners, and practical frameworks, students will explore the foundational elements of nonprofits, effective lay-professional relationships, fundraising strategy, program design and implementation, and organizational culture. Participants will apply course concepts to a real or imagined organization aligned with their passions, developing an action plan as a post-course assignment.
This course counts toward the Entrepreneurship requirement.
1 credit
Online – Monday & Tuesday, May 4 & 5
Online – Wednesday & Thursday, May 6 & 7
New Course
Required Textbooks: TBD

3. PRO 490 Difficult Conversations
TBA
This course will provide students with a social-emotional understanding of how to negotiate difficult conversations. Students will explore what can make social interactions uncomfortable and how to approach communication in effective and compassionate ways. The course includes opportunities for developing the skills and confidence to handle these difficult situations more comfortably. Students will learn how to manage anxiety about and avoidance of difficult dialogue, how to explore what makes these conversations personally problematic for them, and how to structure conversations that can promote shared understanding. Classes will include discussion of ideas as well as experiential practice and role-playing of real-life situations.
1 credit
Online – Monday & Tuesday, May 4 & 5
Online – Wednesday & Thursday, May 6 & 7
Last offered Summer 2025; typically offered every 4-5 terms
Required Textbooks: TBD

Summer 2026 | 5786 – Regular Term

BIB 101 Introduction to Bible
Dr. Ora Horn Prouser
This course will introduce the student to modern critical studies of the Bible. Selected texts of the Bible will be studied in-depth while broader thematic issues will be surveyed. Various methodologies used by biblical scholars will be introduced to the students. The many meanings of the text and the centrality of the Bible in the Jewish world will be emphasized through careful study.
This course is a prerequisite for all Bible study at AJR. Students in this course must be at the level of Hebrew IA or above.
2 credits
Last offered Spring 2025; typically offered every 3-4 terms
Required Textbooks: TBD

BIB 348 Leadership Lessons in Numbers: Holiness, Soulcraft, and Transformation of Peoplehood
Dr. Job Jindo
This course entails a critical examination of the book of Numbers, focusing on themes of leadership (and its failures), holiness, soulcraft, and peoplehood. By the end of the course, students will gain an understanding of: (1) the structure, purposes, and theological outlook of Numbers; (2) the intricate nature of leadership responsibilities, holiness, community dynamics, peoplehood, and soulcraft as depicted in Numbers; and (3) effective strategies for teaching the Book of Numbers to contemporary audiences with AJR values, including critical rigor, inclusivity, and a commitment to the pluralistic nature of the contemporary Jewish and broader communities.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Bible or equivalent
This course counts as a Bible elective.
2 credits
Last offered Summer 2024; offered periodically
Required Textbooks:

• The Hebrew Bible [any edition will do]
• Jewish Study Bible [2nd edition]. New York. Oxford University Press, 2015 [The book of Numbers is annotated by Nili Fox; the 1st edition is also fine] ] Free Download: https://pdfroom.com/books/the-jewish-study-bible/o75XZyYEgaG
• Milgrom, Jacob. Numbers: JPS Torah Commentary. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990, ISBN: 0827603290 Amazon $50.99

BIB 420 Parshanut
Rabbi Lexie Botzum
This course introduces students to the world of medieval and early modern Jewish biblical exegesis. Students will dive deeply into selections from Humash, comparing and contrasting the analysis of major commentators, with a particular focus on Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Ramban, and Rashbam. The course will examine these commentators’ methodologies and assumptions, situating them within larger historical and theological contexts. In learning to interpret both what commentators are saying and why they’re saying it, students will not only develop an understanding of the commentators’ exegetical approaches, but hone the ability to do their own close and critical reading of the biblical text.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Bible or equivalent
2 credits
Last offered Spring 2025; typically offered every 4 terms
Required Textbooks: TBD

BIB 511 Studies in the Book of Job: When Bad Things Happen to a Good Person
Dr. Job Jindo
How should we approach the question of why bad things happen to good people? How shouldn’t we? And why? Where can we find resources to cope with evil? This course will explore these and other related issues of human suffering through a critical reading of the book of Job. By the conclusion of this course, students will be able to: (1) explain the structure, purposes, and theological outlook of Job; (2) discuss biblical theologies of evil and tragedy; and (3) provide examples from the book of Job to understand the human condition in today’s world.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Bible or equivalent
This course counts as a Bible elective.
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2024; offered periodically
Required Textbooks:

• Scheindlin, Raymond P. The Book of Job. New York. W. W. Norton, 1998.  ISBN 0393046265 Amazon $15.20 hardcover and $24.43 paperback.
• Kushner, Harold S. The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person. New York: Schocken, 2012, . ISBN 0805242928 Amazon $14.99
• Greenstein, Edward L. Job: A New Translation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019, ISBN 0300255241 Amazon $19.00

CAN 266 Songs I Wish I Knew
Rabbi David Paskin
An immersive musical workshop for rabbis and cantors who missed the formative camp and youth movement song culture. Through text study and context, participants will learn the core repertoire that continues to shape Jewish communal life — and how to lead it with authenticity and confidence.
This course counts as an elective.
1 credit
New Course
Required Textbooks: TBD

CAN 322 Cantillation Yammim Noraim and Eikhah
Cantor Robin Joseph
This course provides a comprehensive presentation, study, and practical usage of Yammim Noraim and Eikhah cantillation. Students will review the history, structure, and grammar of common Ashkenazi trope/cantillation. Emphasis will be placed on learning the musical notation and phrasing of Yammim Noraim and Eikhah cantillation systems and applying them to text.
Prerequisite: CAN 308: Intro to Cantillation and students should be at or above the level of HEB 250: Hebrew 1A.
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2024; offered periodically
Required Textbooks:

• Jacobson, Joshua R., Chanting the Hebrew Bible – Student Edition, Jewish Publication Society, 2005, ISBN 0827608160 Amazon $31.62
  Recommended:
• Binder, A.W., Biblical Chant, Sacred Music Press, NY 1959 ASIN B002M0WGVW Amazon $150.00
• Scharfstein, Asher, Tikkun LaKor’im ISBN 0870685481 Amazon $35.96 or Trope Trainer
• The Koren Illustrated Five Megillot (Bilingual Edition). Koren Publishers, Jerusalem 2009 or
• The Five Megillot, Soncino Press, London/New York 1946/1996

HAL 401 Introduction to Codes
Rabbi David Almog
This course will introduce students to the literature of the halakhic codes, with a focus on Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. We will explore several facets of the text: its internal dynamics and unique features; the way in which it sets the standard for Jewish legal codification, and the ways in which it is faithful to its earlier sources and how it reshapes them. Emphasis will be placed on precise and accurate reading of the text, with commentaries consulted as necessary.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Mishnah and Hebrew IIA or the equivalent
2 credits
Last offered Summer 2025; typically offered every year
Required Textbooks: None

HAL 480 Responsa
Rabbi Michael Walden
A rabbi’s role is often to bridge tradition and modernity – and responsa are a key part of how. This course is designed to help students feel at home drawing upon responsa throughout their rabbinates. We will study how poskim across Jewish history and denominations drew upon halakhah as they identified questions, weighed sources, and rendered decisions; and culminate by attempting to apply this knowledge to the problems a modern rabbi might navigate.
Prerequisites: Students should be at the level of Hebrew 2A or above.
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2024; offered periodically

HEB 250 Hebrew 1A
Ayelet Amir Rein
Using the second volume of Hebrew from Scratch (‘עברית מן ההתחלה ב), students will read and listen to texts of different genres, surrounding topics of Israeli history and culture, and everyday life. Special attention will be given to speaking fluency, and developing independent learning skills. Grammatical topics include nominal and possessive sentences in the future, relative and conditional clauses, the future tense of Pa’al Ayin-Vav, and inflection of various prepositions.
Prerequisite: Mechina 150 or sufficient Hebrew background as determined by the Hebrew Placement Test
4 credits
(Typically offered every 3-4 terms or as needed.)
Required textbooks:

• Israeli, Sara, Kobliner, Hilla, Shlomit Chayat, Hebrew From Scratch Textbook Part II (English and Hebrew Edition) 2001 Edition, Amazon $65.00, ISBN: 084000849X

HEB 351 Hebrew 2B
Pelleg Halfin
The Modern Hebrew 2B summer course serves as an opportunity to review all the basic grammatical knowledge learned in previous levels (all three tenses, the various uses of the future tense, the passive voice, prepositional declensions, impersonal sentences, and conjunctions), this time in the context of more abstract and complex ideas, materials, and vocabulary, with the aim of building fluency and a preliminary understanding of more academic texts. Furthermore, throughout the semester we will read and discuss a full-length play, translated and adapted to the approximate level of this course. Classes include grammar sessions, speech and comprehension exercises, and reading and writing assignments. The course will be conducted primarily in Hebrew.
Prerequisite: HEB 350 Hebrew 2A or the equivalent
4 credits
Last offered Spring 2026; offered as needed
Required Textbooks:

• Israeli, Sara, Kobliner, Hilla, Shlomit Chayat, Hebrew From Scratch Textbook Part II (English and Hebrew Edition) 2001 Edition, ISBN: 084000849X Amazon $65.00 – the final chapters of (the red book). Students who join us for the first time and do not already own the book do not have to purchase it, as the relevant materials can be provided by the teacher.
• Ibsen, Hebrik, A Doll’s House (Simplified Hebrew), translated by Ayelet Amir, Nikud Press. ISBN 8992235401 Amazon $24.99

HEB 400 Hebrew 3A
Ilana Davidov
The purpose of this course is to transition students from intermediate to advanced level of Hebrew. The course will focus on vocabulary expansion and reading comprehension and will provide training in speaking and listening. Students will develop their productive language skills via class discussions, presentations and listening practice, and via reading and writing assignments. The course will include a review of the verb system.
Prerequisite: Hebrew 2B or the equivalent.
4 credits
Last offered Spring 2025; offered as needed
Required Textbooks:

• עושים עניין / גלי הומינר, צוקי שי, Akademon publishing
  ISBN 978-965-350-246-8 https://hebrewisus.com/evwim-eniin.html, or https://www.sifrutake.com/scripts/main.cgi?action=big&product=TX100
• Reading for a book report – סביון ליברכט, חגיגת האירוסין של חיותה,
  (מתוך “שלושה סיפורים”)
  https://hebrewisus.com/books/gesher-series/shloshah-sipurim.html

HIS 350 American Jews and The Great Experiment at 250
Jennifer Shaw
In 1790, George Washington described the founding of the United States as “the last great experiment for promoting human happiness.” More than two centuries later, that experiment continues to unfold. At a time of deep political division and rising antisemitism and other forms of hatred, the health of American democracy cannot be taken for granted.
This course/seminar invites rabbinical and cantorial students to examine foundational texts of American democratic thought and Jewish sacred sources to explore themes of covenant and constitution, authority and dissent, majority rule and minority rights, and liberty and responsibility.
As emerging faith leaders, you will not only study these ideas but consider your role in shaping civic culture within the Jewish community and beyond. How do Jewish texts inform our understanding of democratic responsibility? What resources does the Jewish tradition offer for navigating pluralism, disagreement, and power? How might clergy cultivate democratic character within their communities? Together, we will wrestle with the enduring promise of the American experiment and consider how Jewish leadership can help sustain and elevate it in our time.
This course counts as the American Jewish History requirement.
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2025; typically offered every 3-4 terms
Required Textbooks: TBD

HIS 401 Ideas and Debates 2
Rabbi Dr. David Fine
The second part of this two-trimester course will examine the new ideas and the great debates that affected Jewish belief, culture and society from the Early Middle Ages up through Early Modern Times. This trimester will focus on the new ideas, perspectives, innovations, and debates of the Babylonian Jewish community under Islamic rule, followed by the growth of the Spanish Jewish community and the exciting developments created in that context. The development of the Ashkenazi Jewish community, as well as its unique understanding of Torah, will be explored, along with the influences and cultural exchange between Judaism and the Medieval Christian World, leading into the period of European Enlightenment and the Early Modern World. Great Ideas and Debates of Jewish History II may be taken before Great Ideas and Debates of Jewish History I.
2 credits
Last offered Spring 2025; typically offered every 3-4 terms
Required Textbooks: TBD

LIT 305 Shabbat Liturgy
Rabbi Dr. Rob Scheinberg
Through analysis of the siddur and selected rabbinic and medieval primary sources, students will become familiar with the major components of the liturgy for Shabbat (both statutory liturgy and the best-known piyyutim), their themes, structure, theology, various theories regarding their historical development, and how they are expressed in a wide variety of siddurim across the Jewish spectrum. Students will have the opportunity to reflect deeply on the meaning and function of many passages from the Shabbat liturgy and how these ideas can be transmitted to a community.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Liturgy or equivalent
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2025; typically offered every 3-4 terms
Required Textbooks:

• A complete traditional Siddur with a literal English translation. The Koren-Sacks Siddur is most highly recommended, and page numbers in this syllabus follow the Koren-Sacks Siddur – “Koren Shalem Siddur, Lobel Edition, Ashkenazic”; other editions may have slightly different page numbers
• Birnbaum, Metsudah, ArtScroll will also be appropriate. (For reasons we will discuss in class, I do not recommend Siddur Sim Shalom, Siddur Lev Shalem , or Miskhan Tefilah for this purpose, even though I am very fond of all of these. We will use them as comparative resources, but not as core texts for our course. We encourage each student to have access to at least one non-Orthodox siddur for us to compare texts and translations.)
• Many readings are drawn from Hammer, Reuven, Entering Jewish Prayer, and from the three Shabbat-relevant volumes of Hoffman, Lawrence, My People’s Prayer Book (volumes 7, 8, and 10). I recommend these books for purchase if you are able to (though passages will be available for download). Also note that e-book versions of these books are currently available to subscribers to www.everand.com .
• Some readings are drawn from Richard Sarason, ed., Divrei Mishkan T’filah, the companion volume to the CCAR Siddur Mishkan T’filah.
  Note that this book is inexpensive as an e-book, and used copies are readily available. Purchase is especially recommended for those who have a connection with a Reform congregation or a special interest in Reform Judaism.
• Weaving Prayer – note that pdf can be purchased from the publisher for $9.95, https://www.benyehudapress.com/books/weaving-prayer/

PHI 312 Modern Jewish Philosophy
Rabbi Dr. Len Levin and Rabbi Cantor Michael McCloskey
Issues of modern Jewish thought will be studied through familiarization with principal works of the major modern Jewish philosophers—including Spinoza, Mendelssohn, Buber, Rosenzweig, Kaplan, Heschel, and Soloveitchik—as well as representative thinkers of the 5 major modern and contemporary movements. The focus will be on how all of these thinkers and movements adapted Jewish tradition—each in their own way—to the intellectual, cultural and political challenges of modernity.
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2024; typically offered every 4 terms
Required Textbooks: You should acquire and read the pages from these books indicated in the Units of Study.

• Buber, Martin, I and Thou (ed. Kaufman).
• Heschel, Abraham Joshua, God In Search of Man

Optional books (pick and choose depending on your interests):

• Rosenzweig, Franz, The Star of Redemption and On Jewish Learning; also Nahum Glatzer: Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought
• Kaplan, Mordecai, Judaism As A Civilization; The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion
• Soloveitchik, Joseph, Halakhic Man; The Lonely Man of Faith
• Every unit will introduce you to portions of books by the represented thinkers. If you particularly like a portion of a book sampled in the
  Readings folder or in the Workbook, you might want to consider buying the whole book.
  Many secondary summaries of modern Jewish thought are available. I highly recommend:
• Eugene Borowitz, Choices in Modern Jewish Thought: A Partisan Guide.
• A full electronic scan of Samuel Hugo Bergman’s Faith and Reason is included in the Readings folder. It contains excellent summaries of Hermann Cohen, Rosenzweig, Buber, A.D. Gordon, Abraham Kook, and Judah Leib Magnes.

PHI 411 Positive Judaism
Rabbi Debra Orenstein
One of the most influential and rapidly-growing fields in social science is the burgeoning discipline of Positive Psychology, the study of human flourishing. For a century, psychology focused mostly on reducing or minimizing negative experiences and influences (e.g., trauma, depression, anxiety). Positive Psychology seeks to discover methods for enhancing life satisfaction, engagement, and meaning. The topics addressed by Positive Psychologists include many subjects addressed in depth by Jewish sources. Among those we will cover in this course are perspective, awe, gratitude, hope, compassion, purpose, habit, and character strengths.

This class will bring together contemporary research and ancient wisdom. We will learn evidence-based interventions that increase happiness and integrate them with Jewish practices, texts, and role models. Students will not only study these topics for academic interest, but apply them in their own lives and in their work as Jewish leaders. We will plumb Positive Psychology, Jewish tradition, and the overlap between them as sources for personal and professional growth. This class will be a “lab” in creating a better life for yourself – and for all those you teach and serve.
This course can count toward the Education requirement or as an elective.
This course will meet for the second half of the term.
1 credit
Last offered Summer 2022; offered periodically
Required Textbooks: TBD

PHI 511 Entering the Pardes: An Introduction to Early Jewish Mysticism
Dr. Yosef Rosen
The enigmatic rabbinic tale of “The Four Who Entered the Pardes” stands at the threshold of Jewish mysticism. Both invitation and warning, it is a foundational site of Jewish reflection on the practices, dangers, and theologies of spiritual ecstasy. In this course, we will enter the Pardes through close reading and historical contextualization, tracing how the story evolved across several rabbinic sources into the cosmologies of the Heikhalot mystics, the philosophical allegories of Maimonides, and the theosophical terrain of Kabbalah. Along the way we will encounter the visionary trajectories of Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Aḥer, and Rabbi Akiva; explore the enigmatic “water, water” warning; the theological heresies of Aḥer; and consider how later traditions reimagined the Pardes as both perilous and necessary terrain for seekers of divine experience. Students will engage primary texts in translation, study key secondary scholarship on Jewish mysticism in Late Antiquity, and develop frameworks for teaching and integrating these materials within contemporary Jewish spiritual practice.
This course fulfills the Mysticism requirement.
2 credits
New course
Required Textbooks: None

PRO 165 Voice Training for All
Cantor Lisa Klinger-Kantor
This class will concentrate on teaching students to use their voices correctly and effectively. Each student comes to this class with unique strengths, experiences, and areas for growth. Our approach is to meet you where you are, offering guidance and instruction that supports your individual vocal development. Whether you are an experienced cantorial student or new to voice training this class is designed to help you progress at your own pace while building confidence and skill. We will explore how simple tools can empower us to sing with authority.
This course counts as an elective.
1 credit
Last offered Summer 2025; offered periodically
Required Textbooks: TBD

PRO 310 Homiletics – Life Cycle and High Holidays – two sections, register for only one
Rabbi Jef Segelman
In this class we will focus on speaking in the context of life cycle events and special occasions, as well as for the High Holidays. We will learn the ways in which clergy formulate and express the wisdom of Judaism in the context of birth, B/Mitzvah, weddings and funerals. We will also discuss the short D’var Torah that often sets the tone for meetings and special events in community life. There is always a great deal of pressure about High Holiday sermons and Divrei Torah. In this class, we will discuss the process by which we decide our topics. And then, through study of the Tanakh and Machzor texts, we will share different approaches to presenting some of our most important ideas in an effective and meaningful way.
2 credits
This is a new course as part of the new clergy curriculum. Students who only need one credit of homiletics, please speak with Ora or Matt to arrange to take only half of this class.
Required Textbooks: TBD

PRO 341 Life Cycle 1
Rabbi Jef Segelman
In this class, we will explore the ways in which Jewish practice informs and elevates the meaning of life from birth through marriage. Students will learn both the meaning and the practical role of clergy in the traditional rituals and ceremonies. We will also focus on how new ideas shape these ceremonies for our own time and our own communities. Finally, we will discuss how we might create new rituals to bring greater spiritual meaning to such important moments as first steps, eating solid food, receiving a drivers license, leaving home, etc.
2 credits
Last offered Spring 2025; has been offered every four terms
This is part of the new curriculum. If you are on the old curriculum, please speak with Ora or Matt to make sure that you cover all the areas that you need.
Required Textbooks: TBD

PRO 470 Chaplaincy
Rabbi Fredda Cohen
To develop and deepen the understanding, comfort, experience, and skill level of rabbinical students in offering pastoral care and counseling in various settings and contexts. During the semester, we will apply both theoretical and practical approaches to the discipline of pastoral care. The course will consist of 6 on-line classes (participation is crucial), assigned readings to be read prior to class (including prior to the first class), and weekly reflections integrating that week’s class reading materials with one’s own personal experiences. By the end of the course, students should (i) have deepened their listening and reflections skills; (ii) be familiar with various models to develop one’s own spiritual assessment competence; (iii) have cultivated a toolbox of interventions to allow for effective pastoral caregiving; (iv) understand various concepts necessary for sustained pastoral caregiving, including: transference, self-care, theological reflection, and ethical decision-making; and (v) be able to discern when additional referrals are indicated.
Dates for 6 classes: May 14, 28, June 11, 25, July 9, 30
Chaplaincy course requirements include a 27 hour internship. See Ora or Matt for information.
1 credit
Last offered Spring 2025; this course is part of the old clergy curriculum and may not be offered again
Required textbooks:

• Freedman, Dayle, Ed., Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook from Traditional and Contemporary Sources, 2nd Edition (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing 2005)
• Doehring, Carrie, The Practice of Pastoral Care: A Postmodern Approach, Revised and Expanded Edition (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press 2015)
• Roberts, Stephen B., Ed., Professional Spiritual & Pastoral Care: A Practical Clergy and Chaplain’s Handbook (Woodstock, VT: SkyLight Paths Publishing 2012)
• Cadge, Wendy and Shelly Rambo, Eds., Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century: An Introduction (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press 2022)

PRO 710 FWSS
Cantor Michael Kasper
This seminar group focuses upon issues that arise in the course of rabbinical and cantorial work. Students will explore the challenges that they face in their work and in their developing rabbinate/cantorate through the presentation of a case study. Participation is required of all students whose work is counting as a required internship experience. All Fieldwork must be approved prior to the beginning of the semester by Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman.
2 credits
Last offered Spring 2026; typically offered every term
Recommended Reading:

• Sweitzer, H. Frederick and Mary A. King, The Successful Internship: Personal, Professional, and Civic Development, 3rd Edition,
• Brooks/Cole, Cenage Learning, Belmont, CA 2009
• Bloom, Jack, The Rabbi As Symbolic Exemplar, The Haworth Press, NY 2002.
• Bookman, Terry and William Kahn, This House We Build: Lessons for Healthy Synagogues and the People
  Who Dwell There, The Alban Institute, Herndon, Virginia, 2007
• Fisher, Roger and Ury, Getting to Yes, Penguin Books, NY, 1991.
• Friedman, Edwin H., Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue, The Guilford Press, NY, 1985.
• Friedman, Michelle and Rachel Yehuda, The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling: A Guide For All Faiths, Routledge Press, London and New York, 2017

RAB 230 Introduction to Talmudic Logic
Rabbi Jeff Hoffman, DHL
In this first trimester of Talmud study, the emphasis will be on learning the kind of talmudic logic employed in the legal arguments, especially the kushia-contradiction (objection) and the terutz (resolution). While the passages studied will be in parallel English/Hebrew-Aramaic columns
from Sefaria, most of the passages will be studied in English in order to facilitate learning the challenging logic of talmudic discourse. Nevertheless, students will learn key technical terms in the original Aramaic. Once students learn the basics of talmudic logic in this first trimester of Introduction to Talmud, the second trimester will introduce additional elements of talmudic study and passages will be studied in their original Hebrew and Aramaic.
The supervised Havruta session is required of all students.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Mishnah or equivalent
2 credits.
Last offered Fall 2025; typically offered every 3 terms
Required textbooks:

• Jastrow, Marcus, A Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi
  and Midrashic Literature. This book is available in standard, hard-copy format. It is also
  available for free on the web on Sefaria, however students are encouraged to acquire it in hard-
  copy because it is much easier to use in hard-copy format.
• Frank, Yitzhak , The Practical Talmud Dictionary. Again, this book is available in standard,
  hard-copy format and is also available for free on the web (though not on Sefaria). Still, it is
  recommended that students acquire it in hard copy because it is much easier to use in hard-copy
  format.
  

RAB 330 Intermediate Talmud 1
Rabbi Jeff Hoffman, DHL
Students will continue to work on the skills necessary in decoding the talmudic sugya. These include extensive work on the logic and the literary layers. Students will also continue to learn increase their knowledge of talmudic terminology, vocabulary and grammar.
Prerequisite: 2 trimesters of Talmud or the equivalent. Must be at least at the level of Hebrew IIA or the equivalent
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2025; typically offered every year
Required Textbooks::

• Steinsaltz Talmud, Megillah. This is the all-Hebrew version, NOT the Noe Edition which includes English translation. It only comes in one size, which is the large size. Students are encouraged to purchase it via the Koren Publishers website (see link below) for $34.95 (plus shipping and tax). Occasionally, students have found Steinsaltz Talmud volumes for a cheaper price on Amazon but those have sometimes been shipped from Israel via book rate by ship (!) and have taken weeks to arrive. In the correct Koren volume, Massekhet Megillah is published together with Massekhet Mo’ed Kattan and Massekhet Hagigah.
  Here is the direct link to the proper volume on the Koren website;
  https://korenpub.com/products/koren-talmud-megilla-moed-katan-hagigahardcover
• Jastrow, Marcus, A Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi and Midrashic Literature
• Frank, Yitzhak, The Practical Talmud Dictionary

Recommended books:

• Carmell, Aryeh, Aiding Talmud Study
• Mielziner, Moses, Introduction to the Talmud, 1894, 1925, 1968
• Retter, Daniel, Hamafteach: A-Z Talmud Bavli Indexed Reference Guide
• Steinsaltz, Adin, The Talmud: A Reference Guide
• Wimpfheimer, Barry Scott, The Talmud: A Biography (Available immediately and for free in digital format on AJR’s DTL (Digital Theological Library).
• Strack, Hermann L., Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash (First published in German in 1887; published in a revised and updated edition in English in 1931; further significantly updated by Jacob Neusner in 1996).

RAB 363 Midrash: The Architecture of Jewish Consciousness
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Midrash is the rabbinic practice of intentionally interacting with Tanakh as a living, generative medium. Beginning with creation, preexistent Torah, revelation, and divine ontology, this course will move through sacred space, miracle and magic, covenantal origins, matriarchal and patriarchal figures, kingship and political theology, and ultimately toward rabbinic constructions of nationhood, desire, gender, and the human condition. Drawing on tannaitic and amoraic sources (including Midrash Rabbah, Mechilta, Sifra, Sifrei, Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, and select sugyot in Bavli and Yerushalmi) students will engage texts in Hebrew and Aramaic and in translation, focusing on literary analysis. By tracing how the rabbis refract Tanakh across an expansive textual horizon, the seminar explores midrash as theological creativity and as a decisive force in the enduring structures of Jewish consciousness.
This course fulfills the Intermediate Midrash/Midrash 2 requirement.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Midrash or equivalent
New course
Required Textbooks: TBD

RAB 530 Advanced Talmud
Laynie Soloman
This course will support students seeking to further develop their abilities to independently read, translate, and interpret complex sugyot in the Talmud. We’ll learn key texts from Masechet Ta’anit that explore the relationship between human action, leadership, divine retribution, and climate catastrophe, and students will explore the material’s meaning, wisdom, and relevance for our contemporary moment. Students will analyze sugyot with attention to historical layers, critically engage parallel texts, and surface the Talmud’s creative agenda. Throughout the trimester students will also increase their facility with navigating a page of Talmud and utilizing the tools on the daf to enhance their learning.
Prerequisite: Three terms of Talmud or the equivalent
2 credits
Last offered Summer 2025; typically offered every 3 terms
Required Textbooks:

• Masechet Ta’anit – unvocalized (hardcopy recommended, pdf will be provided)
• Jastrow, Marcus, Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli, and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature
• Frank, Yitzhak, The Practical Talmud Dictionary