Yom Kippur: Law and Lore

What, if anything, is the relationship between Yom Kippur’s prohibitions and its ethical focus on repentance? In this advanced course, we will study sugyot (discussions) from the eighth chapter of Yoma, which deals with the abstentions of Yom Kippur, as well as the exceptions to those rules. In particular, we will pay attention to the interplay of halakhah (law) and aggadah (lore) to see how each helps us understand better the other. The text will be studied solely in the original language so the ability to read and understand Hebrew is a prerequisite, though previous Talmud study is not.

Miriam-Simma Walfish teaches at Yeshivat Hadar, where she has taught courses in Talmud, Bible, and contemporary Jewish thought. A graduate of the Pardes Educators’ Program, through which she studied in the Advanced Talmud track at Pardes and received an M.A. in Jewish Education at Hebrew University, she has also studied at Drisha, the Northwoods Kollel, and Midreshet Ein ha-Netziv. She has taught in a variety of settings, including the Hadar Beit Midrash, the Northwoods Kollel, and here at the Havurah Institute.