Or Zarua Talmud Class

Our 2009-2010 class focused on Chapter 4 of Tractate Bava Metzi'a and the laws dealing with interest (that is, the impermissibility of charging interest) and the definition of what constitutes interest, as well as laws dealing with commerce, fair pricing, and the general precept of not doing harm to others. These laws, based on several verses in the Torah, give fascinating insight into the Torah's - and the Rabbis' - understanding of community - insights which are applicable in our day just as surely as they were at the time the Rabbis of the Mishnah and the Gemara were debating them.

In 2008-2009 we continued, from 2007-2008, our study of the first chapter of Masekhet Kiddushin, dealing with the topics of betrothal and marriage, as well as respect for parents and treatment of the elderly.

In the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 classes we studied Masekhet Mo'ed Katan, dealing with the laws of mourning. Studying this tractate has given us a great deal of insight into the origins of many of the practices and rituals associated with the mourning period and its practical applications made it an ideal tractate for study.

In the 2004/2005 class we studied Chapter 3 of Masekhet Shabbat, known as "Perek Kirah", which deals with the laws of cooking on Shabbat. You may know what ingredients you like to include in your cholent, but if you had taken this class you'd know HOW to make your cholent so it conforms to the laws of Shabbat!

In June 2003 we completed an eight-year study of Masekhet Berakhot, the first tractate in the Talmud; in the 2003/2004 class we studied Masekhet Bava Kamma, the first tractate of the Talmud dealing with civil law.

No Hebrew or Aramaic knowledge is required for the class, nor is previous study of Talmud. While we do review the original text with the Rabbi, our discussion is in English and covers a variety of topics - as does the Talmud!

If you miss a class, or if you'd like to hear what our classes are like, feel free to use the following links to listen to classes from the 2009-2010 season. Left-click on a file to play it or right-click and select "Save Target As..." to download the file to transfer to your mp3 player or to play on your computer.