Incredible Cases in Rabbinic Responsa

What Jews asked, how rabbis answered, and the stories their letters tell

Winter 5786: 6 Mondays at 7:30pm | Begins Monday, January 12, 2026

Listen in on the questions your ancestors asked across history as they paid taxes, got married, fled war, and celebrated Passover in secret.

What do their questions reveal about how they lived? What do these sages’ answers reveal about the process of applying Jewish law?

Join this six-session course to explore the fascinating world of rabbinic responsa. You’ll see the tools Jewish tradition offers for living by timeless values in a world that never stands still—and come face to face with raw Jewish history.

This course will offer continuing education (CLE) requirements for lawyers and legal professionals.

Lesson 1
The people who asked the questions

What do these questions reveal about our ancestors? What did they think, feel, and value? Explore five fascinating stories to find out.

Cases BARCELONA, 1300; ALGIERS, 1450; MODENA, 1530; ALGIERS, 1732; AUSCHWITZ, 1944

Lesson 2
The quest for facts

Do sages make assumptions about how reality works, or do they investigate the facts? Follow rabbis as they conduct five fascinating investigations worldwide.

Cases CAIRO, 1548; ALTONA, 1709; HAMBURG, 1772; JERUSALEM, 1866; BROOKLYN, 1958

Lesson 3
How the Torah stays relevant

See inside the process that enables the Torah’s ancient code to guide life in an ever-changing world. Witness the precise process of applying Talmudic precedent.

Cases BARCELONA, 1300; VALENCIA, 1380; PAVIA, 1478; BEREZHANY, 1908

Lesson 4
When the exception is the law

Explore unexpected rulings that reveal the hidden fallback mechanisms built into Jewish law. These cases show how the law itself protects deeper values like human dignity and family harmony.

Cases PAVIA, 1450; SALONIKA, 1550; KRAKOW, 1570; LIOZNA, 1790

Lesson 5
Answering the whole person

Rules don’t always translate easily into reality. See how sages account for the practical, social, and emotional realities around a question to ensure their ruling leads to its intended outcome.

Cases CAIRO, 1173; BARCELONA, 1300; LODMIR, 1615; LUBAVITCH, 1871; BROOKLYN, 1954; MANCHESTER, 1963

Lesson 6
Responsa from the future

Could Artificial Intelligence decide Jewish law? Is lab-grown meat kosher? See how Jewish law is addressing the questions posed by tomorrow’s cutting-edge technology.

Cases JERUSALEM, 2003; MAALEH ADUMIM, 2009; NEW YORK, 2015; BEIT SHEMESH, 2022

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List of questions:

• Brooklyn, 1958
  Can an Israeli ocean liner sail on Shabbat?

• Brooklyn, 1954
  May a patient with a catheter pray and study?

• New York, 2015
  Who is the mother when there’s a mitochondrial transfer?

• Hamburg, 1709 / 1763
  Is a chicken without a heart kosher?

• Hamburg, 1772
  Should burials be delayed due to the widespread fear of premature burial?

• Manchester, 1963
  May tefillin be brought into a hospital if they will be incinerated?

• Barcelona, c. 1300
  Is one obligated to contribute toward communal expenses despite holding a royal tax exemption?

• Barcelona, c. 1300
  Can an astrolabe be used on Shabbat?

• Barcelona, c. 1300
  Should donors be recognized on plaques?

• Valencia, c. 1380
  Is a synagogue seat-holder justified in opposing the addition of new seats that would narrow his access?

• Algiers, 1732
  Can a repurposed bathhouse be used for prayer during war?

• Algiers, c. 1450
  Can crypto-Jews eat grain-based foods on Passover that are typically avoided?

• Pavia, c. 1450
  Do parents have the authority to dictate whom their children marry?

• Pavia, c. 1478
  Can all German Jews be taxed to help ransom the Regensburg Jews accused of a blood libel?

• Modena, 1530
  Should Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon be annulled?

• Lublin (Lubavitch), 1871
  Are new breeds of chicken imported to Europe kosher?

• Liozna, c. 1790
  Do parents have the right to stop their children from switching to pray in the Chasidic manner?

• Lomdir, 1615
  Should the community invoke its autonomy to save a Jewish murderer?

• Auschwitz, 1944
  Can a father ransom his son, knowing another will be killed in his place?

• Kraków, c. 1570
  May a wedding take place after sunset on Friday, when delayed due to a dowry dispute?

• Berezhnay, 1908
  Does a hot air balloon hovering over a sukkah invalidate it?

• Salonika, c. 1550
  May immigrants from Italian lands switch over to the Sephardic prayer rite?

• Cairo, c. 1173
  Should one believe in the Yemenite Jew claiming to be the messiah?

• Cairo, 1548
  Is it permissible to use a canal formed by the Nile’s rise for ritual immersion?

• Jerusalem, 1866
  Are new breeds of chicken imported to Europe kosher?

• Jerusalem, 2003
  Who is the mother in cases of ectogenesis?

• Jerusalem, 2003
  How does one track Shabbat on Mars?

• Maaleh Adumim, 2009
  How does one track Shabbat on Mars?

• Worldwide, 2026
  Can AI be used for Halachic decisions?

• Beit Shemesh, 2022
  What’s the kosher status of lab-grown beef?