Classes by Mordechai Dinerman

The Talmud famously rules that a childless couple must divorce after ten years of infertility. Yet, this law has often been overlooked, a reality that goes back many centuries. This class explores how, when, and why this occurred.

After A Decade of Barrenness: What Actually Happens

In the previous episode, we witnessed some of the greatest halachic figures waging war against Machnisei Rachamim and a number of other piyutim. In Part 2, we hear the voices of the supporters.

The Battle Over Machnisei Rachamim (Part 2)

It’s a beloved piece of liturgy, recited as we begin the new year. But some of the greatest halachic figures waged war against it, suggesting that it expresses quasi-heretical beliefs. In Part 1 we hear the voices of the opponents, and Part 2 will examine the defense.

The Battle Over Machnisei Rachamim (Part 1)

In 1772, the Duke of Mecklenburg decreed that Jews could not bury their dead until three days after death. The Jewish community faced difficult questions about the mitzvah of burial.

Buried Alive: The 18th-Century Halachic Debate

A controversial wedding ceremony ca. 1550 sheds important light on the inner rabbinic process, the history of Jewish marriage, and the limits of rabbinic law.

The Cracow Couple and Rama's Remarkable Responsum

The Rebbe Rashab invoked “dechikas haketz” as one reason to be against Zionism. What are the contours of this prohibition? Does it still apply?

The Rebbe Rashab, Zionism, and Expediting the End

At two medieval disputations, a famous Midrash was invoked to argue that Moshiach had already come. The rabbinic approaches to this Midrash unveil different approaches to Talmudic Aggadah.

The Barcelona Disputation: Was Moshiach Born on Tisha B’Av?

Tunisian Jews used to refer to Tanach as Mekashya, but few understood why. Fortunately, illuminated medieval Jewish manuscripts can help solve this mystery, revealing a unique perspective on the study of Tanach.

The Mekashya Mystery

The Rebbe Rashab addressed this issue when confronted with Zionism, and the Rebbe did the same a few decades later after the State of Israel was established.

Does Israel Amount to (the Beginnings of) Kibutz Goliyos?

How have Jewish sages responded when a predicted Messianic time didn’t materialize? Here we focus on this phenomenon within Chabad history.

The Day After: Reacting to Moshiach’s Not Coming in Chabad History