JLI Series: Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa
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.)
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
