Rabbinic Responsa
Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa
Listen in on the surprising, practical questions your ancestors asked rabbis across Jewish history.
Join this six-session course to discover the little-known world of rabbinic responsa, a vast archive of the real-life questions of ethics and practice Jews asked across history—and the scholarly answers rabbis wrote. Algiers is under siege: May I pray in a bathhouse? The Inquisition is watching: How will I celebrate Passover? Seventeen Jews are held hostage in faraway Regensburg after a blood libel: Must I help pay their ransom? See what enables Jewish tradition to offer relevant guidance in a rapidly changing world—and come face-to-face with raw Jewish history. (If you don’t know what a “rabbinic responsa” is, you’ll fit right in.)
Attached below are the questions which we will address in the course:
1. 1958, Brooklyn – Can an Israeli ocean liner sail on Shabbat?
2. 1954, Brooklyn – May a patient with a catheter pray and study?
3. 2015, New York – Who is the mother when there’s a mitochondrial transfer?
4. 1709, 1763, Hamburg – Is a chicken without a heart kosher?
5. 1772, Hamburg – Should burials be delayed due to the widespread fear of premature burial?
6. 1963, Manchester – May tefillin be brought into a hospital if they will be incinerated?
7. c. 1380, Valencia – Is a synagogue seat-holder justified in opposing the addition of new seats that would narrow his access?
8. c. 1450, Pavia – Do parents have the authority to dictate whom their children marry?
9. c. 1478, Pavia – Can all German Jews be taxed to help ransom the Regensburg Jews accused of a blood libel?
10. 1732, Algiers – Can a repurposed bathhouse be used for prayer during war?
11. c. 1450, Algiers – Can crypto-Jews eat grain-based foods on Passover that are typically avoided?
12. 1530, Modena – Should Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon be annulled?
13. c. 1300, Barcelona – Is one obligated to contribute toward communal expenses despite holding a royal tax exemption?
14. c. 1300, Barcelona – Can an astrolabe be used on Shabbat?
15. c. 1300, Barcelona – Should donors be recognized on plaques?
16. 1871, Lubavitch – Are new breeds of chicken imported to Europe kosher?
17. c. 1790, Lizhensk – Do parents have the right to stop their children from switching to pray in the Chasidic manner?
18. 1615, Lódź – Should the community invoke its autonomy to save a Jewish murderer?
19. 1944, Auschwitz – Can a father ransom his son, knowing another will be killed in his place?
20. c. 1570, Kraków – May a wedding take place after sunset on Friday, when delayed due to a dowry dispute?
21. 1908, Berezhany – Does a hot air balloon hovering over a sukkah invalidate it?
22. c. 1550, Salonika – May immigrants from Italian lands switch over to the Sephardic prayer rite?
23. c. 1173, Cairo – Should one believe in the Yemenite Jew claiming to be the messiah?
24. 1548, Cairo – Is it permissible to use a canal formed by the Nile’s rise for ritual immersion?
25. 1866, Jerusalem – Are new breeds of chicken imported to Europe kosher?
26. 2003, Jerusalem – Who is the mother in cases of ectogenesis?
27. 2003, Jerusalem – How does one track Shabbat on Mars?
28. 2022, Beit Shemesh – What’s the kosher status of lab-grown beef?
29. 2026, Worldwide – Can AI be used for Halachic decisions?
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
