Lesson 1
The Torah
Explore Tanakh’s twenty-four books, the relationship between Written and Oral Torah, and the foundations of later Jewish literature.
All study pathways
The Jewish bookshelf
Book Smart
Find your bearings in the rich world of Jewish texts.
ABOUT THIS PATHWAY
What you’ll explore.
Discover the different kinds of writing that make up the Jewish bookshelf. Begin with the relationship between the Written Torah and Oral Torah, then consider how commentary, law, ethics, and Jewish thought guide continued learning.
What to explore
- Tanakh and its commentaries
- Mishnah, Talmud, and halakhah
- Ethics and Jewish thought
COURSE OUTLINE
Explore all six lessons.
Lesson summaries based on the published outline from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute.
Lesson 2
The Midrash
Discover interpretive methods and major Midrashic works, including legal interpretation, narrative, ethical teaching, and parable.
Lesson 3
The Talmud
Learn how the Talmud developed and experience its distinctive method of questioning, debate, and close analysis.
Lesson 4
Halachah
Trace Jewish law from biblical sources through commentaries, codes, and responsa to its practical application.
Lesson 5
Musar and Jewish Philosophy
Explore ethical and philosophical writing through questions of creation, trust in G-d, and the work of refining anger.
Lesson 6
Kabbalah and Chasidism
Examine the history of Jewish mystical thought, the sefirot, and Chasidic approaches to making spiritual ideas personally meaningful.