Federation Learning
Generously supported by the Elaine Belle Krasik Fund for Adult Education.
Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff
Federation Scholar
Explore Ongoing and Upcoming Learning Opportunities
Understanding Israel’s Political Crisis with Matti Friedman
Learn virtually with Matti Friedman, Canadian-Israeli journalist, about the current political situation in Israel.
Matti Friedman is a Canadian-Israeli journalist and author. He is an op-ed contributor for the New York Times and columnist for Tablet magazine. Following the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, Friedman wrote an essay criticizing what he views as the international media's bias against Israel and undue focus on the country, stating that news organizations treat it as "most important story on earth." For example, when Friedman worked there, the Associated Press news agency had more staffers covering Israel and the Palestinian territories than they had in China, Russia or India, or in all of sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition to his reporting, Friedman has written four books: The Aleppo Codex, Spies of No Country, Pumpkinflowers, and his latest book Who By Fire about singer Leonard Cohen's time in Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Sign up for our other Israel at 75 classes today!
UN Partition Plan-Virtual Lecture Featuring Tal Becker
Media Bias Against Israel with Matti Friedman
Israeli Literature as a Window to Israeli Society
$160 for this 10-Part Series: TUESDAYS at 9:30 AM, Feb. 7 - May 2, 2023. In this course, Rabbi Schiff will facilitate an encounter with Israeli society through the pens of Israel’s leading writers, discovering voices that are original, contemporary, and honest. This 10-part Melton course takes you on a literary journey offering a fresh examination of the ever-relevant issues faced by Israeli writers. Together, learners will read poetry and prose (translated into English) that is challenging and self-critical, gaining insights into the Jewish national psyche.
Sacks: To Heal a Fractured World
$145 for this 10-Part Series:
Wednesdays at 9:30 AM, Feb. 22 - May 17, 2023.
In this brand new 10-part course, Rabbi Schiff will explore "To Heal a Fractured World", Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' book on the nature of Jewish responsibility for the broader world. Students will be invited to read this pivotal book and to discuss its contents in order to arrive at a better understanding of the views of Rabbi Sacks on the goals and vision of Judaism.
CLE: Prohibited Marriage: Still Relevant or Thoroughly Outdated?
THURSDAYS on Zoom, 8:30-10:45 AM, Sep. 22 - June 29, 2023. The Alan Papernick Educational Institute Endowment Fund presents A 6-Part Series taught by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff Earn 2 ethics credits per class! Open to all, you need not be a lawyer to attend. All legal systems have parameters that describe the types of marriages that will be deemed legally acceptable and those that are forbidden. In this CLE, Rabbi Schiff will describe the range of prohibited marriages, and why certain marriages are not countenanced within Judaism.
Is Judaism Compatible With Democracy?
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 United States + Google Map
$55 for this 4-Part Series:
THURSDAYS at 9:30 AM, Mar. 23 - Apr. 27, 2023.
Today, many are concerned that democracy is under threat. That reality raises a critical question: what does Judaism have to say about democracy? What is the attitude of Judaism to majority rule, to defending minorities, to the separation of religion and state, to kings and courts? In this course, Rabbi Schiff will delve into what our texts have to say about the structure of government from a Jewish viewpoint.
Co-sponsored and offered in conjunction with Temple Sinai
Miracles – A Jewish Perspective
$55 for this 4-Part Series:
SUNDAYS at 10:00 AM, Apr. 9-30, 2023.
The Ten Plagues. The Exodus. The Splitting of the Sea. The Delivery of Manna… Judaism has a long list of miracles. But do we really believe in miracles? How should rational minds think about the miraculous? In this course, Rabbi Schiff will consider the place of miracles in Judaism and how Jews might think about the miraculous today.
The Jewish Text Puzzle
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 United States + Google Map
$85 for this 6-Part Series: MONDAYS at 7:00 PM, Apr. 10 - May 22, 2023.
We Jews have an array of texts and making sense of them is not easy. In this course, Rabbi Schiff will put the pieces of the “text puzzle” into one coherent picture, so that the place of Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, Responsa, Kabbalah, as well as many other sources, can be easily understood. Rabbi Schiff will provide a historical context that will explain the significance of our various texts to Judaism.
Cosponsored and offered in conjunction with Rodef Shalom Congregation
CLE: Prohibited Marriage: Still Relevant or Thoroughly Outdated?
THURSDAYS on Zoom, 8:30-10:45 AM, Sep. 22 - June 29, 2023. The Alan Papernick Educational Institute Endowment Fund presents A 6-Part Series taught by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff Earn 2 ethics credits per class! Open to all, you need not be a lawyer to attend. All legal systems have parameters that describe the types of marriages that will be deemed legally acceptable and those that are forbidden. In this CLE, Rabbi Schiff will describe the range of prohibited marriages, and why certain marriages are not countenanced within Judaism.
CLE: Ransoming Captives: A Vexing Legal Dilemma
THURSDAYS on Zoom, 8:30-10:45 AM, Sep. 22 - June 29, 2023. The Alan Papernick Educational Institute Endowment Fund presents A 6-Part Series taught by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff Earn 2 ethics credits per class! Open to all, you need not be a lawyer to attend. How far should we go to ransom a captive? Should we hand over jailed terrorists to redeem a captive? How many terrorists? Does it make a difference if the captive is in mortal danger? In this CLE, Rabbi Schiff will delve into the age-old, ever-fresh problem of ransoming captives in Jewish law.
CLE: Plagiarism in the Internet Age
THURSDAYS on Zoom, 8:30-10:45 AM, Sep. 22 - June 29, 2023. The Alan Papernick Educational Institute Endowment Fund presents A 6-Part Series taught by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff Earn 2 ethics credits per class! Open to all, you need not be a lawyer to attend. Should plagiarism be considered a form of theft? In the internet era, should electronic plagiarism be regarded as a less serious or a more serious infraction? In this CLE, Rabbi Schiff will survey the plague of plagiarism and what Jewish law has to say about it.
