February 14: "The Mishnah Project" What did the rabbinic sages have in mind when they embarked on creating the Mishnah after the destruction of the Second Temple? An overview of who these rabbis were and how they orgainized Jewish religious culture.

February 15 (during morning services at CBS) “Parashat Yitro: Jethro’s Visit”

February 15: "The Ox Goes Wild" How the Talmud sages use an ox that is in the habit of goring to look at negligence and damages.

February 16:
11:00 AM Yom Limmud “And when I was eighty years old, I …received the Torah from the right hand of The Holy One, Blessed Be He, and I taught it to Israel” What was Moses like at the end of his life? At 120 years old, he faces his death, and a canonical Midrash in Deuteronomy Rabbah examines this moment, gathering earlier material from the great prophet’s life into an examination of his intimacy with G-d, the divine commandment that he will not cross the Jordan River with the Israelites, his achievements, his mortality, and his love of life.

12:30 PM Yom Limmud, “The Origins of Rosh Hashanah" The Bible says very little about the holiday that became Rosh Ha-Shanah—just two short passages that more or less repeat simple instructions, in the Books of Leviticus and Numbers. Where did the Jewish New Year come from? This talk will show how Mishnah and canonical Midrash of Leviticus Rabbah brought symbolism of Adam’s creation, and the Judgement as well as pardon of all descendants from Adam, in connection with the Biblical commandments to have a ritual day of rest and sacred assembly.