With advancements in science, medicine, technology and so many other fields, with many events that changed the course of history, how did the 20th century change rabbinic thought, if at all. Join Rabbi David Sedley as he explores rabbis of the 20th century and their responsa literature.
November 8, 2022 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
20th Century Responsa: 02 Women’s Suffrage
Class description
In this class we look at the opinions of different 20th century rabbis on whether women should be allowed to vote and/or elected to public office.
We learn about the biographies and halachic views of:
Rabbi David Zvi Hoffmann
Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook
Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel
Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog
November 15, 2022 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
20th Century Responsa: Israel (part 1)
Class description
In this class we spend most of the time learning about Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rav. He came from a rabbinic family of Siget Hasidim. He was renowned from a young age for his Torah knowledge, but faced opposition when he wanted to become the town’s Rav. He rejected working with the Zionists to escape the Nazis, then fled Hungary on the Kastner train. He lived in Israel for a short while and made regular visits to Israel, yet he was a strong opponent of Zionism and the state. He moved to New York where he took a handful of Holocaust survivors and created a new Hasidic dynasty which today is the biggest in the world.
We learn a section from the introduction of Vayo’el Moshe.
We also begin to speak about Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin, who was born in almost the same year as the Satmar Rav. He came from a Chabad (but not Lubavitch) family, and was known as a Torah genius from a young age. He moved to Israel where he became the editor in chief of Encyclopedia Talmudit, one of the most unique and ambitious projects of Torah scholarship ever attempted.
According to his grandson, he often said he did not know if the State of Israel was the beginning of the redemption or the opposite. But he knew that it provided salvation to Jews, and its founding was miraculous.
November 22, 2022 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
20th Century Responsa: Thanksgiving
Class description
In this class we look at several different 20th century rabbis and their views on whether it is permissible to eat turkey on Thanksgiving and celebrate the festival.
January 10, 2023 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
20th Century Responsa: Temple Mount
Class description
Some rabbis rule it is forbidden to ascend the Temple Mount today. Others say it is permitted.
In this class we will look at the biographies of some of those who say yes and some who say no.
January 17, 2023 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
20th Century Responsa: Civil Rights
Class description
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, in this class we will learn about three American rabbis: Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik, Rabbi Chaim David Regensberg, Rabbi Norman Lamm, and what they wrote about civil rights.
January 24, 2023 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
20th Century Responsa: Dina DeMalchuta – -Law of the Land
Class description
In this class we look at the lives of several rabbis and their opinions on whether the principle of Dina DeMalchuta Dina (The Law of the Land is Binding) applies when there is no king but an elected parliament, whether it applies in a Jewish country or not, and how far reaching its application is.
The rabbis we study are Rabbi Yehuda Henkin, Rabbi Yitzchak HaLevi Herzog, Rabbi Avraham Shapira, Rabbi Tzvi Tau and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu.
Rabbi David Sedley lives in Jerusalem with his wife and six children. He was born and raised in New Zealand before making Aliya in 1992. He left Israel temporarily (for eight years) to serve as a communal Rabbi in Scotland and England and returned to Israel in 2004. He has translated Rabbeinu Yonah's commentary on Pirkei Avos and is the co-author of Sefiros: Spiritual Refinement Through Counting the Omer (both Judaica Press). Over the years Rabbi Sedley has worked as a journalist, a translator, a video director and in online reputation management. He also writes a weekly Torah blog on the Times of Israel.