The
Adult Learning Institute (ALI) offers adult education
opportunities in a wide variety of Judaic subjects,
presented in mini-course format by some of the best
scholars in Atlanta. Each course will last three to
four consecutive weekly sessions. Classes meet Tuesday
evenings, 8:00-10:00 p.m. at the Young Israel of Toco
Hills, 2074 LaVista Rd. NE.
Please call the synagogue office at 404-315-1417 for
registration and syllabus. Admission charge: $25 members/$40
non-members, per course.
To learn more about some of our ALI faculty, just click
on their names below:
Young
Israel is proud to announce our next ALI course
by Rabbi Yossi New
Kaballah
and Halakha: One Torah Five classes: May 3, 10, 17, 24
& 31
Kabbalah is the traditional and most commonly used term
for the esoteric teachings of Judaism and for Jewish
mysticism, especially the forms which it assumed in
the Middle Ages from the 12th century onward. In its
wider sense, Kabbalah seeks an apprehension of God and
creation whose intrinsic elements are beyond the grasp
of the intellect. Essentially these elements were perceived
through contemplation and illumination, which is often
presented in the Kabbalah as the transmission of a primeval
revelation concerning the nature of the Torah and other
religious matters. In essence, the Kabbalah is far removed
from the rational and intellectual approach to religion.
In
contrast, halakha, typically thought of as the legal
side of Judaism, is largely directed towards the intellect.
Indeed, the study of the halakha in the rabbinic period
and beyond became the supreme religious duty. Because
of its difficult subject matter and its importance for
practical Judaism, this study took precedence over that
of any other aspect of Jewish teaching, so much so that
after the destruction of the Temple, God is viewed by
the Sages as having nothing else in His world other
than the four cubits of the halakhah (Berachot. 8a).
At
first glance, kabbalah and halakha seem worlds apart,
and yet, they are one Torah. The two often work in tandem
to make Torah and of the life led according to its dictates
a more profound experience, both internally and externally.
And while it is frequently assumed that kabbalah seeks
to broaden the dimensions of the Torah and to transform
it from the law of the people of Israel into the inner
secret law of the universe, both kabbalah and halakha
seek to transform the Jew (be he a hasid or ish ha-halakha)
into a being with a vital role in the God's world.
Using
both the filter of kabbalah and halakha, we will examine
a number of different texts, ranging from Talmudic sources
to the rationalistic writings of the Rambam to classical
kabbalistic texts such as the Zohar, Sefer ha-Emunot
by Shem Tov b. Shem Tov, Divrei Soferim by Zadok ha-Kohen
of Lublin, Sefer Yetzirah by Judah b. Barzillai, Ra'aya
Meheimna and the Sefer ha-Tikkunim. Our goal will be
to uncover the themes and language common to both genres,
thereby demonstrating that kabbalah and halakha can
and should be viewed as one Torah.
Rabbi
Yossi New has been the spiritual leader of Congregation
Beth Tefillah since its inception in 1984. Born and
raised in Melbourne, Australia, Rabbi New's religious
education includes studies at Keren B'Yavneh Yeshiva
in Israel and the Rabbinical College of Canada in Montreal.
He was ordained in 1981 at Central Lubavitch Yeshiva
in Brooklyn, New York, and married that same year. His
education continued through post-rabbinic work at the
Kollel's Halachic Research Program. Rabbi New also serves
as the Director of Chabad of Georgia.
Young Israel of Toco Hills
2074 LaVista Rd, Atlanta, GA 30329
