JLI: Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa - Chabad of Danville & S. Ramon

Please join Rabbi Shmuli Raitman for a remarkable new six-week course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute.

Six Tuesday Evenings,

starting January 20, 2026, 7:15PM-8:30PM

Chabad of Danville & S. Ramon

4125 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Danville, CA 94506

The option to join by Zoom will be available.

Meeting ID to be provided upon registration.

Fee: $89 (textbook included); $148/Couple

Early Bird Special before January 12th for $79.00

For more information, please call 925.272.9672

or e-mail [email protected]

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.)

LESSON 1: DISPATCHES OF DEVOTION: ADHERENCE TO JEWISH LAW

Step inside the real-life questions that shaped Jewish law throughout the centuries—cases filled with courage, pressure, and unwavering commitment. Discover how ordinary Jews upheld halachah even in the most extraordinary circumstances.

LESSON 2: TORAH IN THE TRENCHES: FACT-FINDING IN LEGAL DECISION-MAKING

See how rabbis become investigators, blending science, expert insight, and lived reality to reach truthful rulings. These cases reveal a legal tradition deeply engaged with the world around it.

LESSON 3: PRECEDENT IN PRACTICE: PAST RULINGS APPLIED TO NEW REALITIES

Watch ancient principles illuminate modern dilemmas—from astronomy to vaccines, electricity, and early aviation. This lesson uncovers the creative art of analogy that keeps Jewish law responsive across time.

LESSON 4: COUNTERWEIGHTS CONSIDERED: COMPETING VALUES AND EXEMPTIONS

What happens when strict law meets compassion, dignity, or family needs? Explore remarkable rulings where rabbis weigh competing values and choose the path that honors the deeper intent of the tradition.

LESSON 5: THE FIFTH FACTOR: EMOTIONAL AND SITUATIONAL WISDOM IN RABBINIC RESPONSA

Some decisions hinge not only on facts, but on empathy and keen human insight. Journey through gripping stories—spanning Yemen, Poland, and Russia—where compassion shapes legally sound yet deeply humane outcomes.

LESSON 6: FORGING FORWARD: EXPLORING FUTURISTIC RESPONSA

From AI ethics to Shabbat in space, gene-transfer motherhood, and lab-grown meat, encounter the cutting-edge questions reshaping Jewish life. A fascinating look at how ancient wisdom engages with a rapidly evolving world.