Courses

If you are in middle school or high school, come learn with us this summer. If you are a college student and beyond, check out our summer Kollel in New York City, our vibrant Beit Midrash programming in Israel, and, of course, for year-round study, Yeshivat Drisha.

December 4 - December 18, 2024
On Zoom

Crying gets our attention. When adults cry, our hearts break for them. When children cry, we run to them. When humans cry, even in exile and diaspora, Hashem hears it. What is crying about? Why is it so powerful? Is it ever right to tell someone to stop crying?

 

October 30 - December 11, 2024
On Zoom

Join an interactive, seminar-style investigation into the weekly haftarah, as we inquire into its meaning and liturgical function. How does the haftarah complement, contrast with, or otherwise reframe our understanding of the Torah reading with which it is paired?

October 28 - December 2, 2024
On Zoom

Dedicated to those held hostage

Why do we drink four cups of wine at the Passover Seder? Why do we eat while reclining? Is dipping twice really such a big deal?

The Passover Seder commemorates one of the pivotal moments in Jewish history, the redemption from Slavery. Although the Bible provides the origins for it, the talmudic rabbis filled in the details, creating step by step guidelines for this timeless ritual. The result is the Seder, a unique blend of study, remembrance and re-enactment.

In this course we will examine these guidelines which comprise the tenth chapter of tractate Pesachim. Beginning with the Mishnah and continuing with the analysis in the Babylonian Talmud and its medieval and early modern commentators, we will examine how various rituals comprising the Seder developed and the theological and conceptual issues surrounding them. At the same time, students will gain skills in reading, deciphering, and analyzing this often enigmatic text.

May our learning be a merit for those being held hostage to experience another redemption.

Nobody is turned away for inability to pay; contact inquiry@drisha.org to inquire about financial aid.

December 4 - December 18, 2024
On Zoom

All new technologies force us to ask how Torah can respond to, or shape the development of, such changes. Artificial Intelligence, especially generative AI, has raised many new questions, both moral and practical, and a language must be found to frame these issues religiously. In this course we will focus on how AI changes the way we think about halakhic decision making and the goals of education, especially when AI can seemingly do many of the things previously done by human beings.

November 24 - November 24, 2024
On Zoom
Recognizing the impending arrival of modernity and its challenge to traditional Judaism, Rabbi Israel Salanter called for a renewal movement within Orthodoxy. His vision incorporated a self-critique, a religious focus on character development, and a pedagogy designed to shift people from ritual behaviorism and conformism to internalized spirituality and an ethically committed way of life. His efforts reached a yeshiva trained elite but not the lay masses whom he hoped to impact.
In this session, we will explore R. Salanter’s vision and legacy. Our exploration will be based on the new Koren edition (Jerusalem, May 2024) of R. Salanter’s Ohr Yisrael and Other Writings, with a new translation and commentary, by Rabbis Yitz Greenberg and Justin Pines.
November 3 - December 15, 2024
Virtual

One of our most beloved offerings! Join veteran educator and Drisha alumna Morah Deborah Klapper, in a Talmud class just for middle school girls. This Fall Zman, we’ll be focusing on Perek HaMafkid – Selections from Bava Metzia 33b-44a.

What happens if you agree to watch your friend’s stuff… and it gets lost or stolen? We will explore this very old question in the Torah, the Mishnah, and the Gemara. This course is open to girls in grades 6-9 of various skill and knowledge levels. No school, no tests, no homework; just fun playing with ideas.