Printed fromJewishArcadia.com
Ask the Rabbi
Subscribe
Subscribe to Weekly Email
View all subscriptions »
Contact
Home
About
Donate
Chabad of ArcadiaWhere Every Jew Is Family - 626-JEW-4578
Celebrate
Shavuot
First Friday's - Sushi & Scotch Shabbat Morning Services (weekly) Community Shabbat Dinner 2026 13 Reasons to try Shabbat
Shabbat @
Chabad
Join Donate
CTeen of
Arcadia
About
Us
For All Humankind Sinai and Civics The Jewish Value of Giving Weekly Tanya Class Soup & Study - Weekly class Lunch and Learn (Wednesdays) One on One Study Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa (Jan. 2026) The Kabbalah of Meaning (Nov. 2025) How Israel Wins (June 2025) Colorful Profiles (May. 2025) Decoding The Talmud (Feb. 2025) Nurturing Relationships (Nov. 2024) Decisions of Fate (May 2024) Advice For Life (Feb. 2024) World Of Kabbalah (Nov. 2023) Paradigm Shift (Mini series) Read It In Hebrew - Summer 2026
JLI Registration
Sinai & Civics Registration
Adult
Education
Other convenient ways to donate Join our Chai Club Car Donation Chabad Tomorrow - Make YOUR Legacy a Jewish Future
Donate
Upcoming
Events
Jewish Calendar Jewish Holidays Hebrew Months Accurate Shabbat Candle-Lighting Times Zmanim - Halachic Times About the Jewish Calendar Jewish / Hebrew Date Converter Jewish Birthday Calculator Bar/Bat Mitzvah Calculator Yahrzeit Calculator Daily Study The Week in Jewish History Find Local Events Manage My Events Event Reminders Shabbat Time Alerts Share My Calendar
Day View Week View Month View Year View Event View Manage My Events
High Holidays 2026 Sukkot & Simchat Torah 2026 Chanukah - Hanukkah 2025 Asarah B'Tevet (Tevet 10) 2025 15 Shevat 2026 Purim 2026 Passover (Pesach) 2026 Pesach Sheni 2026 Lag BaOmer 2026 Shavuot 2026
Sefirat HaOmer Tisha B’Av and the 3 Weeks 2026 15th of Av - Tu B’Av 2026
Features
Special Years Eruv Tavshilin
Nisan Iyar Sivan Tammuz Av Elul Tishrei Cheshvan Kislev Tevet
Shevat Adar (& Adar II) Adar I
Related
Rosh Chodesh: The New Moon The Jewish Month
How to Light Shabbat Candles Holiday Candle-Lighting Procedure Candle Lighting Times on Your Website About Lighting Times About Holiday Lighting Times Shabbat Times App
Zmanim Briefly Defined and Explained Plag Hamincha Inner Dimension of Plag Hamincha Halachic Times - Zmanim (Shluchim Preview Edition) Printable Zmanim Chart Zmanim / Halachic Times Times Around the World
Introduction Hours in Judaism The Jewish Day The Jewish Month The Jewish Calendar Year The Jewish Leap Year On Which Days Do Jewish Holidays Begin?
Chumash with Rashi Tehillim - Psalms Tanya 3 Chapters Rambam 1 Chapter Rambam Daily Mitzvah Hayom Yom
Additional Study Options
Daily Wisdom Daily Talmud Daily Study App
Calendar
Contact
Us
ב"ה
Adult Education

Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa (Jan. 2026)

Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa

Listen in on the surprising, practical questions your ancestors asked rabbis across Jewish history.

Join this six-session course to discover the little-known world of rabbinic responsa, a vast archive of the real-life questions of ethics and practice Jews asked across history—and the scholarly answers rabbis wrote.

Algiers is under siege: May I pray in a bathhouse? The Inquisition is watching: How will I celebrate Passover? Seventeen Jews are held hostage in faraway Regensburg after a blood libel: Must I help pay their ransom?

See what enables Jewish tradition to offer relevant guidance in a rapidly changing world—and come face-to-face with raw Jewish history.

(If you don’t know what a “rabbinic responsa” is, you’ll fit right in.)

In-Person Option

6 Mondays,
7:00-8:30 P.M.
Jan 19 - Feb 23

Arcadia Chamber of Commerce
388 W. Huntington Dr.
Arcadia, CA 91007

Instructor: Rabbi Sholom Stiefel

This course is being offered for in-person attendees ONLY. 
Light refreshments will be served.

 
REGISTER NOW

Online Option (pending interest)

6 Tuesdays,
5:30-7:30 P.M. (Pacific)
Jan 20 - Feb 24

Zoom information will be provided after registration

Instructor: Rabbi Sholom Stiefel

This course is being offered for online attendees ONLY

 
I'M INTERESTED

More Info:

 

This course is accredited by the State Bar of Califonia for (9) CLE credits.

www.JewishArcadia.com/JLI
[email protected]
626.539.4578
Fee: $129

Scholarships are reserved for committed students only.

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; Spain, 1450; 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 four unexpected rulings to uncover the hidden fallback mechanisms within Jewish law: these aren’t exceptions to the law. They’re the law revealing its quiet values (like human dignity, and peace in the home).
Cases / Pavia, 1450; Salonika, 1550; Krakow, 1570; Liozna, 1790

 

Lesson 5
Answering the whole person

Rules don’t always translate into reality easily. 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; worldwide, 2026


 
 
Adult Education
For All Humankind
Sinai and Civics
The Jewish Value of Giving
Weekly Tanya Class
Soup & Study - Weekly class
Lunch and Learn (Wednesdays)
One on One Study
Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa (Jan. 2026)
The Kabbalah of Meaning (Nov. 2025)
How Israel Wins (June 2025)
Colorful Profiles (May. 2025)
Decoding The Talmud (Feb. 2025)
Nurturing Relationships (Nov. 2024)
Decisions of Fate (May 2024)
Advice For Life (Feb. 2024)
World Of Kabbalah (Nov. 2023)
Paradigm Shift (Mini series)
Read It In Hebrew - Summer 2026
Quick Links
Contact
Subscribe
Donate
Study Torah 1on1

Any topic you desire!

Shabbat @ Chabad

where Judaism comes alive!

Torah Studies

Weekly Parsha class

Kosher Outlet

Affordable & Local

Jewish Birthday Calculator
Read More
The Jewish Woman

A site for every Jewish woman

Read More
Hospital Chaplaincy

at City of Hope and other facilities

Shabbat

Tranquility. Awareness. Jewish identity. Family . . .



Arcadia, CA 91007 • 626-539-4578 • [email protected]

Powered by Chabad.org © 1993-2026 Privacy Policy