Tuesday Nights 8:30pm–9:30pm, with Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz in members’ homes

Learn halacha and Jewish values to explore the most pressing moral issues of our time. Join us for one, two or three semesters. Below is a sampling of the many interesting topics we will explore in this new class.

Semester I: Crime & Punishment

October 5, 12, 26; November 2, 9; at the home of David and Marcia Nimmer

Does the Torah embrace the model of prison? The death penalty? How does the Jewish tradition understand the competing tensions between gun rights and gun control? What are the Jewish ethics of war?

Semester II: Globalization & Ethical Consumption

December 7, 14, 21; January 4, 18; location TBD

How does globalization impact how we appropriate the Torah’s values in the economic marketplace? Can Jewish law and values inform our responsibilities in commerce as producer, consumer, and beneficiary? 

Semester III: Health Care & Global Responsibility

February 8, 15, 22; March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; location TBD

What is the Torah’s approach to addressing issues of health care? End-of-life issues? Where does the pharmaceutical industry succeed and where does it fall short according to the Torah’s values? How do Chazal understand the role of doctors and medicine?

This class is co-sponsored by Uri L’Tzedek: The Orthodox Social Justice Organization

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, one of BDJ’s newest members, is the Senior Jewish Educator at UCLA Hillel. He is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University, and received smicha at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. As a global social justice educator, he has volunteered and taught in many countries including Israel, Ghana, India, France, Thailand, El Salvador, Senegal, Germany, Ukraine, and Haiti. Shmuly is the founder and president of Uri L’Tzedek, a national Jewish social justice organization. In 2008, the Jewish Week recognized Rav Shmuly as one of the “36 under 36.”