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Adult Education JLI Courses

Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa - winter 2026

Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa

Listen in on the surprising, practical questions your ancestors asked rabbis across Jewish history.

Join this six-session course to discover the little-known world of rabbinic responsa, a vast archive of the real-life questions of ethics and practice Jews asked across history and the scholarly answers rabbis wrote.

Algiers is under siege: May I pray in a bathhouse? The Inquisition is watching: How will I celebrate Passover? Seventeen Jews are held hostage in faraway Regensburg after a blood libel: Must I help pay their ransom?

See what enables Jewish tradition to offer relevant guidance in a rapidly changing world and come face-to-face with raw Jewish history.

(If you don't know what a rabbinic responsa is, you'll fit right in.)

When

6 Tuesdays,
7:00-8:30 P.M.
Jan 20 - Feb 24

This course is being offered both in-person and online via Zoom.

Instructor: Rabbi Mendel Sharfstein

Fee: $89.99 (textbook included)
Join the first class free and see what it's all about.

REGISTER NOW

For More Info Contact

[email protected]
904.701.4422

Lesson 1
The people who asked the questions

What do these questions reveal about our ancestors? What did they think, feel, and value? Explore five fascinating stories to find out.
Cases / Barcelona, 1300; Algiers, 1450; Modena, 1530; Spain, 1450; Auschwitz, 1944

 

Lesson 2
The quest for facts

Do sages make assumptions about how reality works, or do they investigate the facts? Follow rabbis as they conduct five fascinating investigations worldwide.
Cases / Cairo, 1548; Altona, 1709; Hamburg, 1772; Jerusalem, 1866; Brooklyn, 1958

 

Lesson 3
How the Torah stays relevant

See inside the process that enables the Torah's ancient code to guide life in an ever-changing world. Witness the precise process of applying Talmudic precedent.
Cases / Barcelona, 1300; Valencia, 1380; Pavia, 1478; Berezhany, 1908

 

Lesson 4
When the exception is the law

Explore four unexpected rulings to uncover the hidden fallback mechanisms within Jewish law: these aren't exceptions to the law. They're the law revealing its quiet values (like human dignity, and peace in the home).
Cases / Pavia, 1450; Salonika, 1550; Krakow, 1570; Liozna, 1790

 

Lesson 5
Answering the whole person

Rules don't always translate into reality easily. See how sages account for the practical, social, and emotional realities around a question to ensure their ruling leads to its intended outcome.
Cases / Cairo, 1173; Barcelona, 1300; Lodmir, 1615; Lubavitch, 1871; Brooklyn, 1954; Manchester, 1963

 

Lesson 6
Responsa from the future

Could Artificial Intelligence decide Jewish law? Is lab-grown meat kosher? See how Jewish law is addressing the questions posed by tomorrow's cutting-edge technology.
Cases / Jerusalem, 2003; Maaleh Adumim, 2009; New York, 2015; Beit Shemesh, 2022; worldwide, 2026


 
 
Adult Education
For All Humankind - Spring 2026
Women Wine & Wisdom 2026
Torah & Tea - Women
Weekly Torah Discussion
JLI Courses
The World of Kabbalah
This Can Happen
The Jewish Course of Why
Journey of the Soul
Advice for Life
Decisions of Fate
Nurturing Relationships - Fall 2024
Decoding the Talmud - Winter 2025
Soul Maps
The Kabbalah of Meaning - Fall 2025
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One on One with the Rabbi
Jewish Mysticism
Hebrew School For GrownUps
Hebrew Reading Crash Course
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