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Course Duration: Five weekly lessons

Pre-course Information Packet

The Oral Torah and its relationship to the Written Torah

1. G-d Distinguishes between the Written and Oral Torahs
2. Primacy of Oral Teachings: Hillel "converts" a convert
3. Reasons for both a Written and Oral Torah
   1. Weakness of Text Only Study
   2. The Torah is Timeless
   3. The Torah is for All
   4. The Torah Unifies
   5. Preserving Judaism's Distinctiveness
4. Components of the Oral Torah

1. How Moses received and transmitted the Torah
2. How the accuracy of Oral Torah is preserved
3. Transmission of the Oral Torah during the Biblical era
4. The dedication of Torah scholars in post-biblical times

1. Development of the Text of the Mishnah
2. The Final Editing of the Mishnah
3. The Braisas and the Tosefta
4. Did Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi Actually Write the Mishnah?
5. The Development of the Gemara

The Role of the Rabbis in Oral Torah

1. The Concept of the Sages’ Authority to Legislate New Religious Rules
2. The extent of the Sages’ authority to create and control Torah law
3. What if there is popular opposition to a particular enactment?
4. When did the Sages begin enacting these additional laws?

1. What is Aggadah?
2. The Veracity of Aggadic Passages
3. What is Kabbalah?
4. Texts Used in the Study of Kabbalah
5. Examples of Kabbalistic Concepts