Stern College Syllabi -- Spring and Fall 2021-2022 courses --- JUDS (Judaic Studies)

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    JUDS 4938: Topics: Weekly Mitzvot
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Schachter, Aharon
    COURSE OBJECTIVES: Welcome to a wonderful new semester in Stern College for Women! I am excited to learn and grow together with you through our study of Halacha from the weekly Parsha. Halacha is intricate, extensive and all encompassing. We cannot possibly cover all areas of Halacha in just a few short months. What we will attempt to do in this course is study a variety of essential and practical topics in Halacha that stem from the psukim in the weekly Parsha that are relevant to all of us. To me, there is nothing more enjoyable than having the opportunity to explore the fascinating development of Halacha from it’s primary sources in the days of the Mishna and Gemarah, segueing into the period of the Rishonim and Achronim, and coming to decisive conclusions with the modern day Poskim and greats of our generation. If you have yet to be on such a journey, this should serve as an eye opening and enriching opportunity for you.
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    JUDS 4937: Holocaust Responsa
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Goldberg, Zev
    ¶Course Description: This course will study issues of halakha and hashkafa that emerged both during and after the Holocaust. We will study responsa written during WWII such as Rabbi Ephraim Oshry’s Sh”T Mi’Ma'amakim. We will also study teshuvot that were published after the War that grappled with issues such as agunot and reparations. Additionally, the class will focus on Jewish philosophical writings that were published during the Holocaust and in response to the Holocaust, including the works of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Piaseczno Rebbe. ¶Course Goal & Objectives: The goal and objective of this course is to study many important teshuvot that were authored during and after the Holocaust in order to more deeply appreciate the halakhic commitment that was displayed by so many Jews during the Holocaust. We will closely examine each teshuva and hashkafic writing to uncover both the halakhic, hashkafic and historical significance. ¶Requirements: The course will be a combination of lectures, chavrusah work and class discussions. In order to maximize the learning, attendance is mandatory. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. More than three absences will negatively affect your grade. You grade will be based on a midterm, final and class participation.
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    JVCW 1003: Jewish Public Policy
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Bashevkin, Dovid
    Class Description and Goals So, what is Jewish public policy? It is an amalgamation of two terms: Jewish & public policy. Let’s start with the latter. Academic definitions of public policy often tend to be so broad that they include everything or so overly dense that it’s unclear what is even being included. For example, Thomas Dye defines public policy as “anything a government chooses to do or not to do.” William Jenkins, however, defined it this way, “a set of interrelated decisions taken by a political actor or group of actors concerning the selection of goals and the means of achieving them within a specified situation where those decisions should, in principle, be within the power of those actors to achieve.” That’s a mouthful. I hope we figure out a clearer understanding, but for the time being let’s think of public policy as an “analysis of how organizations and governments make decisions.” So, what happens when you append the word Jewish to this term? Meaning, what is Jewish public policy? Similar questions have been asked about Jewish philosophy. Does this mean how Judaism approaches philosophy? Maybe it’s any philosophy that is expressed by a Jew? Or is it how philosophy approaches Judaism. In terms of Jewish public policy, we will pose three distinct definitions, each of which will be a foundation of this course. ¶Three approaches to Jewish public policy: ¶A. The Jewish Approach to Public Policy Issues: In this definition, Jewish public policy presents Jewish perspectives on major public policy issues. For instance, education, labor laws, societal governance are all issues that are discussed in the secular world. One approach to Jewish public policy would be to ask, what is the idealized Jewish approach to any of these issues. ¶B. How Public Policy Affects Jews: Major trends in secular public policy can have serious consequences for the Jewish community. In the United States, issues of religious freedom or education, for instance, can have serious implications for the Jewish community. Within this approach, Jewish public policy asks what policies the Jewish community should advocate for and how they should respond to policy regulations in this area. ¶C. How Should Jews Run Their Own Communities and Institutions: A final area covered by the term Jewish public policy are the ways in which Jewish organizations, communities, and governments should be run. What are the principles and strategies which guide the Jewish community internally. This would include the principles of a Jewish state, a Jewish university, or a Jewish community. Whereas our second topic dealt with the Jewish community vis-a-vis the public policies of the non-Jewish world, this section considers public policy regarding the internal governance of the Jewish world.
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    JUDS 1845H: Advanced Talmud: Gittin
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Kahn, Moshe
    ¶Course Title Gittin ¶Course Description This course will explore extensively two types of legal documents: The first, to terminate a marriage through a divorce and the second, to execute civil transactions. It will analyze similarities and differences between these two types of documents and what both documents need to contain in order to be legal and binding. Prerequisites 2-4 years of formal Talmudic study in an educational setting. ¶Course Objectives I have several objectives: The student should acquire proficiency in reading and translating precisely; Talmud and Rishonim. The student should acquire proficiency in analyzing clearly and thoroughly Talmud and Rishonim. And if the student can master these skills then: The student will be able, independently, to study any text of Talmud and Rishonim with accuracy, depth, and understanding. In order to accomplish this, I ask the students to prepare, with a chavrusa, the material in advance of each class. During the formal class I call on the students to read, translate, explain, and analyze. I constantly impress upon the students to be meticulous and precise in their reading and translations and that every word is important. I constantly ask probing questions to ascertain if they fully understand the conceptual ideas being expressed. I would administer vocabulary quizzes as needed. I also administer a midterm and final, written and sometimes oral, which include a vocabulary section and a section that tests their conceptual understanding of all the material. I believe that this methodology of learning
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    JUDS 1843: Intermediate Talmud
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Kahn, Moshe
    ¶Course Description This course will explore extensively two types of legal documents: The first, to terminate a marriage through a divorce and the second, to execute civil transactions. It will analyze similarities and differences between these two types of documents and what both documents need to contain in order to be legal and binding. ¶Prerequisites 1-2 years of formal Talmudic study in an educational setting. ¶Course Objectives I have several objectives: The student should acquire proficiency in reading and translating precisely, Talmud and Rishonim. The student should acquire proficiency in analyzing clearly and thoroughly Talmud and Rishonim. And if the student can master these skills then: The student will be able, independently, to study any text of Talmud and Rishonim with accuracy, depth, and understanding. ¶In order to accomplish this, I ask the students to prepare, with a chavrusa, the material in advance of each class. During the formal class I call on the students to read, translate, explain, and analyze. I constantly impress upon the students to be meticulous and precise in their reading and translations and that every word is important. I constantly ask probing questions to ascertain if they fully understand the conceptual ideas being expressed. I would administer vocabulary quizzes as needed. I also administer a midterm and final, written and sometimes oral, which include a vocabulary section and a section that tests their conceptual understanding of all the material. I believe that this methodology of learning has been successful and that students have grown and are constantly developing their skills.
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    JUDS 1839: Intro to Talmud: Topics in Tefillah
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Stepansky, Sophia
    Objectives: 1. Learn how to navigate a page of the Talmud 2. Gain Talmud reading comprehension skills 3. Learn how the development of Halacha works 4. Apply all of these skills to learn about prayer 5. See how Chazal conceptualize prayer and its primacy in Jewish life 6. Empower you to take ownership over your Torah learning as a means to get closer to G-d ¶Sample Topics Approach towards Prayer, Which Intentions are required during the Amidah, Structure of the Amidah, Missed Prayers, Hashem Sifatai Tiftach, Magen Avraham and more
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    JUDS 1602: Modern Jewish Problems
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Schacter, Jacob J.; Fertig, Samantha Zahava
    ¶Course Description: This course will deal with a number of different issues that are of current interest in the Jewish community: • The Status of Jerusalem in Christianity, Islam and Judaism • Must I Love Every Jew?: The Status of Non-Observant Jews in Jewish Law and Tradition • The Ethics of Truth Telling in Jewish Law and Tradition • Judaism and General Culture: Meaning and Significance • Commemorating the Holocaust: Yom Hashoah or Tisha B’Av? ¶Goal: To critically examine a series of important issues facing the Jewish community today from intellectual, historical and emotional perspectives. ¶Objectives: Students should be able to reflect critically on these issues. They will be expected to appreciate how a more sophisticated and in-depth understanding of them will enhance their ability to be thoughtful and engaged Jews in a more meaningful way. They will also be expected be able to articulate their ideas on these matters, orally and in writing
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    JUDS 1581: Public Health & Jewish Law Syllabus
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Laufer, Charles Kalman
    Course Overview In an ever increasingly global world what are the individual requirements and obligations of each Jew in regards to the preservation of Public Health? In this course we will look at how Halacha guides and obligates us to take steps as individuals that when taken together help to enact protections for all. We will look in detail at the way in which communal responsibility brushes up against personal choice and what incentives are appropriate in ensuring compliance with such measures. We will also look at the reverse relationship and what obligations the community has to increase public health and in what manner. This course will also look at exploitative relationships and the Halakhic guidelines therein in regards to creating communal benefits under questionable or inappropriate means. Course Objectives The goals of this course are to establish a basic framework of both secular and Jewish bioethics that can be applied in the field. Additionally, this course will focus on the ability to break down both classical Jewish texts as well as contemporary articles and secular case law to understand the ramifications of the questions that are commonly faced by the Halakha Observant public.
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    JUDS 1571: The Individual in Society: Capital Punishment, Torture, Testimony
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Berman, Saul
    Course Purposes: This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the varied approaches in the history and literature of Jewish Law to issues in Social and Political ethics, and their contemporary application. This will be achieved through the study of selected, illustrative topics from their earliest ancient legal roots, through medieval elaboration and codification, to contemporary judicial decisions. The course shall also serve as an introduction to the history and literature of Jewish Law. The dynamic elements of the legal system will be systematically investigated. The first few sessions will be devoted to a survey of the legal and literary sources of Jewish Law based on the four volume work by Menachem Elon, Jewish Law, J.P.S., Phila., 1994. The topics to be studied are: Capital Punishment, and Torture, and Testimony Against Fellow Jews in Non- Jewish Courts
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    JUDS 1512: The Process of Psak Halacha (Modern Poskim)
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Wolff, Daniel E.
    COURSE TOPICS AND GOALS Focus on the lives and Teshuvot of Chazon Ish זצ"ל Rav Moshe Feinstein זצ"ל The Rav, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik זצ"ל Rav Ovadiah Yosef זצ"ל Also: Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach זצ"ל Minchas Yitzchak זצ"ל Tzitz Eliezer זצ"ל We will analyze how different modern poskim come to different conclusions on the same topics, and the process through which their decisions are made. We will discuss how these Halachic decisions lead to widely varying practices within Orthodox Judaism. The topics include Mechitza Torah education for women Yom Haatzmaut and the State of Israel organ donation hair covering for women We will also discuss how the Halachic "consumer" chooses a posek or a psak to follow.
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    JUDS 1503: Ethical Issues and Dilemmas
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Auman, Kenneth
    ¶Course objective: To explore and understand selected issues of Jewish ethics and their application in the modern world. We will study classical texts of Halacha – the Talmud and its commentaries – in order to gain an understanding of the basic principles of Halacha and we will utilize the codes of Jewish law and selections from the Responsa literature to learn how these principles apply today. ¶Course units: I. Judging others A. Taking the future into account. 8/25, 8/30 B. Giving the benefit of the doubt. 9/1, 9/6 II. Truth and Falsehood A. Lying 9/8, 9/13 B. Deception 9/15, 9/20 III. Life and Death A. Protecting one’s own life 9/22, 10/6 B. Murder and capital punishment 10/20, 10/25 C. War 10/27, 11/1 D. Abortion 11/3, 11/8 E. Short term life for long term chances 11/10, 11/15 IV. Equality A. In court 11/17, 11/22 B. Appointing leaders 11/29, 12/1 C. Castes 12/6, 12/8 D. Dividing the land of Israel 12/13, E. Loving one’s fellow. 12/15 F. Loving the convert 12/20 G. Slavery 12/22
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    JUDS 1491: Interpersonal Relationships in the Workplace
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Wolff, Daniel E.
    COURSE TOPICS AND GOALS August 25 through Midterm includes: Business Business competition Pricing and overpricing Marketing and Advertising Fair vs. deceptive marketing and advertising Journalism and Social Media Boundaries of responsible reporting Psychology, Psychiatry and Counseling Privacy issues vs. potential harm to the client and others Cognitive behavioral therapy that conflicts with Halacha Review for Midterm: Tuesday, November 8 Midterm: Thursday, November 10 November 15 through Final includes: Law Adjudicating cases in Bet Din vs. the courts Defending violators of the law The Medical Profession Caring for the dying patient and end of life decisions Also: Yichud/ Shaking hands/ Maaser Kesafim ¶General Goals: Gaining familiarity with the Halachic system and an understanding of the Halachic process, key sefarim and their authors. Supplementary assignments (optional but important), to be learned with a chavrusa : listed on cover page. Ability to read texts is NOT REQUIRED but it is VERY, VERY HELPFUL. Building reading skills is not a primary goal of this course, but it should be a primary personal goal.
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    JUDS 1474: Sephardic Law and Liturgy
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Hidary, Richard
    Students in this course will explore the differences of laws and customs among various Jewish communities, especially those from the Middle East and Spanish Portuguese. We will trace the sources of these practices back to their sources and include some historical study of these communities. Through reading primary sources, we will become familiar with some of the great poskim and sages from the Sephardic world. We will also learn about some of the liturgy of these communities including the variations of Nusah, samplings of piyyutim and their tunes, and the function and chanting of the Ta’amim (cantillation). All readings are available through Canvas and should be prepared before each class.
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    JUDS 1467H: Topics in Festivals
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Auman, Kenneth
    Course objective: to explore and understand the laws of Chol Hamoed. We will study the classical texts of Halacha – the Talmud and its commentaries – in order to gain an understanding of the basic principles of Halacha, and we will utilize the codes of Jewish law and selections from the Responsa literature to learn how these principles apply today.
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    JUDS 1457: Shabbat Survey
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Cohen, Aaron
    COURSE OBJECTIVES: The course will focus upon two broad subjects in Hilchos Shabbos: Kiddush & Havdala. While there will be a strong emphasis on Halacha li’maaseh, the practical application of the Halacha, we will also discuss the definition and conceptualization and definition of Halachic terms that serve as the underpinning for the Halacha. The Shulchan Aruch and Mishnah Berurah will be used throughout, but there will also be discussion of the early sources that elucidate the Halacha, and many She’elos U’Teshuvos and other contemporary works will be introduced as well. There will be and emphasis on understanding the halachic process and how normative halachic practice emerges from careful analysis of the issues.
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    JUDS 1434: Kashrut
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Wolff, Daniel E.
    COURSE TOPICS AND GOALS Includes: Source for the Mitzva/ which materials require Tevila/ which kinds of Kelim require Tevila/ the status of disposable cookware/ the status of electric cookware/ the nature of the Mikva for this Mitzva. Includes: Sources for and explanation of Hagaala and Libun/ how and when ovens need to be kashered/ using one oven for milk and meat/ the status of glass, pyrex, stainless steel, and other materials/ the status of sinks and dishwashers for meat and dairy ¶General goals: familiarity with the Halachic system and an understanding of the Halachic process, key sefarim and their authors
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    JUDS 1453: Shabbos
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Schachter, Aharon Yeshaya
    COURSE OBJECTIVES: Welcome to a wonderful new semester in Stern College for Women! I am excited to learn and grow together with you through our study of Hilchos Shabbos. Hilchos Shabbos is intricate, extensive and all encompassing. We cannot possibly cover all its details in just a few short months. What we will attempt to do in this course is study a variety of essential and practical topics in Hilchos Shabbos that are relevant on a weekly basis for all of us. To me, there is nothing more enjoyable than having the opportunity to explore the fascinating development of Halacha from it’s primary sources in the days of the Mishna and Gemarah, segueing into the period of the Rishonim and Achronim, and coming to decisive conclusions with the modern day Poskim and greats of our generation. If you have yet to be on such a journey, this should serve as an eye opening and enriching opportunity for you.
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    JUDS 1410: Women and Jewish law
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Schatz, Sara
    Course Description ¶The status of women in halacha is complex, but ever-evolving. In this course, we will analyze through a critical, but respectful lens the foundations of halachic Judaism and its relationship to women in our daily practices through both traditional and contemporary sources. This semester will focus on women’s roles in the greater Jewish community, and will be split up into four units: 1. Women’s general status in halachic history ( (מעמד האישה בהלכה 2. Women in leadership roles in the Jewish community ( (שררה 3. Women’s participation in תפילה בציבור and the general makeup of תפילה in context of women (תפילה בציבור) 4. Women and תלמוד תורה ¶Course Requirements Students are expected to attend class regularly. We will spend much of our time analyzing primary texts together, so please come prepared for discussion. Your readiness to participate is crucial, and a key element of your semester grade. More than four semester absences will result in a reduction in your grade.
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    JUDS 1404: Basic Jewish Concepts - The Shabbat
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Reichman, Zev
    ¶Course Description: The course will study the laws and philosophy about Shabbat observance. Objectives: The student will master the laws of the thirty nine Melachot as well as the basic philosophical ideas that Jewish mystics find in Shabbat observance. ¶Assessments: Students will be tested with a midterm and final exam
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    JUDS 1202: Laws and philosophy of Jewish prayer
    (Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2022-09) Goldberg, Zev
    ¶Course Description: This course will focus on the laws that govern daily Jewish prayer. We will study relevant topics including a woman’s obligation in prayer (ex. Must I daven all of Shacharit?), appropriate locations for prayer (ex. Can I daven in my bedroom?) and times for prayer (ex. Do I have to wake up before noon on Sunday?). We will also study the philosophical underpinnings of prayer from the selected works of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Shimshon Pincus and Rabbi Shimon Schwab. ¶Course Goal & Objectives: The goal and objective of this course is to study a host of important topics that relate to the laws and philosophy of prayer. Through rigorous analytical study, students will develop a deeper appreciation for the halakhic system that guides our daily prayer routine.