This year, beginning on Wednesday, October 21, 2009, we will begin studying 'fraud' as discussed in Chapter 4 of Tractate Baba Metzia, starting at daf 49b. This chapter is found in Vol. 2 of Tractate Baba Metzia in the Schottenstein Talmud by ArtScroll. The item number is TBM2 for the full size edition, and DTBM2 for the Daf Yomi size.

Purchase of this volume is not required but is mentioned for your convenience as it is the text we use in class.

The Or Zarua Talmud Class, which begins its twenty-first consecutive year on October 21, 2009, meets from 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm on Wednesday nights beginning on the first Wednesday after Simhat Torah and ending on the Wednesday prior to Shavuot. This class, led by Rabbi Wechsler, always attracts a crowd and is a highlight of Or Zarua's Adult Education program.

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.

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 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 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.

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 current 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.

November 25, 2009 - No Class

December 2, 2009

December 9, 2009

December 16, 2009 - No audio for this Class

December 23, 2009

January 13, 2010

January 20, 2010