Captivating Cases
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30 Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa
Listen in on 30 surprising, practical questions your ancestors asked rabbis across Jewish history. Click Here for full list
- What would you do if saving your child meant another life would be lost?
- How do you keep Shabbat… on Mars?
- Should a Jewish community protect a murderer from execution ?
- Is lab-grown meat kosher?
- And who is the mother when a child is born through Mitochondrial Replacement (the "three-parent baby")?
See the full list of questions here
These are not thought experiments from a philosophy class. They are real questions, asked by real Jews, in real moments of crisis —and answered by rabbinic leaders who understood that Torah is not only eternal, but alive.
This course takes you inside these moments across centuries and continents—from medieval Spain to Auschwitz , from ancient Cairo to the age of artificial intelligence.
This is the course I wish every thoughtful Jew could experience .
Each session explores a gripping case:
A moral dilemma with no easy answers
The human story behind the question
The halachic reasoning that guided Jewish leadership with courage, compassion, and clarity
You’ll see how rabbis confronted war, medicine, technology, and ethical chaos— and how their decisions continue to shape how Jews live, choose, and think today.
This course isn’t about abstract law. It's about leadership under pressure, faith in complexity , and living with integrity when the stakes are real.
If you’ve ever wondered how Judaism adapts without losing its soul —or how timeless wisdom guides impossible decisions—this course is for you.
(If you don’t know what a “rabbinic responsa” is, you’ll fit right in.)
8-9:30 PM 20 Jan - 17 Feb
Chabad HGS Instructor: Rabbi Bentzi Sudak
Lesson 1 The people who asked the questions
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
