Captivating Cases
Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa. Listen in on the surprising, practical questions your ancestors asked rabbis across Jewish history, over dinner, four Tuesday nights in November.
Save your seat
Tuesdays Nov 3, 10, 17 & 24 · 7–9 PM · 730 Ponce De Leon Pl NE, Atlanta · Dinner, drinks and course materials included
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: must I help pay their ransom? Rabbinic responsa are a vast archive of the real questions Jews asked across history, and the answers rabbis wrote back. See how Jewish tradition gives relevant guidance in a fast-changing world, and come face to face with raw Jewish history.
The people who asked
Barcelona, Algiers, Auschwitz: behind every question is a person facing a real crisis. Meet them.
How the Torah stays relevant
From Valencia to Berezhany: applying Talmudic precedent to questions the Talmud never imagined.
Answering the whole person
From Cairo to Manchester: the best answers address the person asking, not just the question.
Responsa from the future
Can AI decide Jewish law? Is lab-grown meat kosher? Rabbis are answering these questions right now.
Meet Rabbi Leivy
Rabbi Leivy Lapidus is the director of YJP Atlanta, known around town as the BeltLine Rabbi.
Originally from Argentina, he became a rabbi at 22 in Los Angeles and has been teaching Torah for more than ten years. At YJP he brings that experience to young professionals in a way that feels personal, relevant and real, whether around a Shabbat table, over coffee, or in a conversation that started on the BeltLine.
He will lead all four Tuesday nights of Captivating Cases with the approach he brings to every class: real questions, honest discussion, and a seat at the table for everyone, whatever your background.
Want a taste of Rabbi Leivy’s classes? Check out @yjp.classes on Instagram.
If you don’t know what a rabbinic responsa is, you’ll fit right in. No background needed.
Dinner and drinks are on us. Come hungry, and the course materials are included.
Register for the full course, or just a single class. Both are sponsored, so you pay a fraction of the regular price.
What scholars say
“Jewish law has been anything but static. This course provides insight into how rabbis have met the challenges of a world beset by sometimes drastic changes in culture, science, politics, and economic circumstances.”
“Students will encounter fascinating examples of how the rabbinic authors of responsa, like their common-law counterparts, balanced rules and principles.”