Classes by Mordechai Dinerman

We are used to seeing two Yudin as a substitute for G-d’s ineffable name. But it wasn’t always that way.

Spelling Hashem’s Name in Hebrew Manuscripts

By examining the liturgy and art in a tiny medieval machzor, we learn how hearing the Aseres Hadibros was experienced seven hundred years ago, and how it's both similar and different today.

Shavuos Art, and the Strange History of Akdamus

Why animal heads replace human heads; why the luchos morph into a Torah scroll; and the origins of the areinfirenish and dairy on Shavuos.

Shavuos Through the Lens of Historic Jewish Art

Many assume that "explaining" and "Holocaust" are never to be seen in the same sentence. How did we get here? And was it always this way?

Explaining the Holocaust? Multiple Approaches by the Frierdiker Rebbe and Rebbe

We can document how the Mishneh Torah was drafted, finalized, updated, disseminated, illuminated, critiqued, printed, and censored.

Mishneh Torah: A Biography

The Cairo Geniza unveils much about Rambam’s communal activism, teaching, authorship, lost works, and overall life.

The Cairo Genizah: Shedding Light on the Life and Works of the Rambam

The final class of the series, in which we introduce Rambam’s position, Chasidic sources, and wrap up the topic with the key takeaways.

A Jewish Guide to Horoscopes and Astrology (Part 3)

A leaked draft suggests that the highest court of the land is primed to overturn one of the most controversial cases in American history. It’s time to revisit what Halachah has to say on the topic of abortion and the beginning of life.

Overturning Roe v. Wade: Good for the Jews?

Continuing to explore astrology from a Jewish perspective. What are the theological problems with accepting astrology and how did the rabbis address this? We will discover a range of opinions about how easy or difficult it is to subvert an astrological outcome.

A Jewish Guide to Horoscopes and Astrology (Part 2)

The background and origins of red strings, kinora, and “poo-poo”; Rambam’s position on the matter; and two models for how Jews understood this mysterious phenomenon.

A Jewish Guide to the Evil Eye