Rabbi's Summer Class
From Oral Tradition to Sacred Text: How the Mishnah Transformed Jewish Life and Thought in conjunction with Me'ah Select

Taught by Rabbi Gordon
in conjunction with Hebrew College, Me'ah Select

Wednesdays, 7-9PM
June 15, 22, 29, July 6, 13 (make-up class July 20, if needed)

Registration/cost information to come-- scholarships available through Me'ah and additional scholarship assistance available to B'nai Tikvah members (contact Rabbi Gordon after applying for Me'ah assistance).

For more information or questions, contact meah@hebrewcollege.edu

Course Description
The Mishnah, the first book of Rabbinic Judaism, pursues an agenda distinct from the Bible. Responding to the destruction of the Temple in 70 c.e. and the expulsion of the Jews from Jerusalem after the Bar Kochba war (ca. 135 c.e.) the Mishnah offers guidance on resilience in the face of catastrophic loss. 

How did the Mishnah, with its radically new form and content, become the foundation for later rabbinic Judaism’s theology and practice?  What hints do we find in the Mishnah about its audience and goals?  In our own world, living in America 80 years after the destruction of the European Jewish center, what would a new Mishnah look like? 

Our class will begin with a review of the Mishnah in its historical and literary contexts.  Then we will explore three tractates that each serve as an introduction to the Mishnah: Berachot (“On Blessings”), Avot (“On Foundations”) and Eduyyot (“On Testimony”).  Our final class will explore excerpts from throughout the Mishnah as we imagine together how this text can guide us today. 

This class honors the upcoming publication of The Oxford Annotated Mishnah; edited by Shaye J.D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg z”l, and Hayim Lapin