UTJ-News

UTJ-News: The Real Time Torah Fall 2010 Schedule

2010-08-10T10:26:36Z

Institute of Traditional Judaism, the Metivta

www.themetivta.org

The Fall 2010 schedule

Real Time Torah

Classes start the week of October 3, 2010

Courses are available for immediate registration. Classes begin the week of October 3. Please contact the ITJ office directly if you or someone you know would like to begin learning with us.

Tuesday

6:00-7:30PM ET(R. Ronald Price)

Introduction to Gemara(Berakhot)

7:30-9:00 PM ET(R. Alan Yuter)

Development of Rabbinic Judaism: from the conclusion of the Bible to the formation of the Mishnah (530 BCE-200 CE)

Thursday

6:00-7:30PM ET(R. Alan Yuter)

The academic study of Mishnah (Berakhot)
With the special attention to Jewish thought and ritual.

7:30-9:00PM ET(R. Alan Yuter)

Sefer Shemot (Exodus)
Israel self-definition narrative. How to read biblical text. Narrative philosophy concretized in a law.

Sunday

12:00-2:00PM ET(R. David Novak)

The Jurisprudence of Maimonides.
The course will deal with Maimonides as a philosophical halakhist or an halakhic philosopher. Readings will be from his Commentary on the Mishnah, Mishneh Torah, and some of his responsa.

About Our Faculty

Rabbi David Novak - J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Professor at the University of Toronto. A founder and Vice President of the UTJ, founding faculty member of the Metivta and coordinator of the UTJ's Panel of Halakhic Inquiry. Author of numerous volumes on Jewish law, ethics, and philosophy, and a renowned expert on interfaith dialogue. His latest books are The Jewish Social Contract: An Essay in Political Theology (Princeton University Press, 2005), and Talking with Christians: Musings of a Jewish Theologian (Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005).

Rabbi Ronald D. Price - Executive Vice President of the UTJ and the Dean of the Metivta. Co-creator of "Taking the MTV Challenge", a Jewish response to pop culture, which is now taught in more than 300 educational institutions across the denominational spectrum.

Rabbi Alan J. Yuter - Faculty member of the ITJ and adjunct faculty member of Fairleigh Dickinson University, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel Community College. Author of many articles and papers on Jewish law and Jewish thought. Rabbi Yuter was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi M.D. Tendler, and the Israeli Sephardic Rabbinate, and holds a Ph.D. in Modern Hebrew Literature from New York University. He is the spiritual leader of B'nai Israel Congregation, the orthodox synagogue of downtown Baltimore, Maryland.

Fee schedule:

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are able to offer the classes without charge to individuals taking them not for credit (auditing).

For individuals taking the classes toward a credit at the Metivta, the technology fee is $250/semester. Financial assistance is available; for details please contact our office.

For synagogues registering as an adult education class, the fee is $400 per class, regardless of the number of people participating.

Hardware requirements:

1. You need a relatively modern computer to participate in the program: Windows XP, Vista,or Windows 7 are fine. Your computer should have at least a Pentium 4 class processor, 2.4 GHz, 512Mb of RAM for XP. Any computer that can comfortably run Windows Vista will do. The so-called netbooks with Intel Atom class processor are not suitable to run the software. (If you use a Mac, there is a company that produces the software for OSX: http://www.mirial.com. The software cost there is 169 Euro and, unfortunately, we have no experience with it.)

2. A web-camera (a bult-in laptop or a monitor camera is fine).

3. A head set (headphones and a microphone) or a dedicated speakerphone.

To apply:

If you or someone you know wishes to participate in our shiurim, please contact us at:

Institute of Traditional Judaism
811 Palisade Avenue
Teaneck, NJ 07666

Phone: (201)801-0707 ext. 200
Fax: (201)801-0449

email: info@themetivta.org

or visit our web-site: www.themetivta.org

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Union for Traditional Judaism
811 Palisade Ave
Teaneck, NJ 07666
United States

UTJ-News: 27th Lieberman Memorial Lecture

2010-04-21T17:17:30Z

THE GRA"SH MEMORIAL LECTURE
Rabbi Wayne Allen will speak on
"The Term 'Halakhah' and Its Implications for Jewish Life"
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
21 Iyar 5770
6:30 p.m.

in Memory of Rabbi Professor Saul Lieberman, zt"l

Each year the UTJ, the ITJ (the Metivta), and Morashah, the Rabbinic Fellowship of the UTJ, join together to remember HaGaon Rabbeinu Shaul zt"l, Rabbi Professor Saul Lieberman, of blessed memory. Rabbi Lieberman was a teacher to many of the founders of the UTJ/ITJ and his scholarship is relied upon by academicians and Torah scholars alike, across all denominational bounds, in understanding Torah shebe'al peh, the Oral Torah. Please join us for this year's event.

Rabbi Wayne Allen, author of the 2009 book, "Perspectives on Jewish Law and Contemporary Issues", will explore Professor Lieberman's analysis of the origin of the term Halakhah in a talk entitled "The Term 'Halakhah' and Its Implications for Jewish Life".

Rabbi Allen, a Vice President of the UTJ, has served Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto for more than 20 years. His recent book uses Talmudic and halakhic sources as well as archeology, philology, medicine, et al., to address a wide range of challenges that face the modern Jewish world.

Location:

Drisha Institute
37 West 65th Street
New York, NY

Reservations are requested: office@utj.org or 201-801-0707

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Union for Traditional Judaism
811 Palisade Ave
Teaneck, NJ 07666
United States

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UTJ-News: 24th Annual Operation Pesach.

2010-03-15T11:01:21Z

March 22 through March 28, 2010

Everything you wanted to know about Pesach...

Volunteers are standing by.

Dial 1-888-MATZAH1* (1-888-628-9241)
E-mail: op@utj.org or operationpesach@utj.org

For more information visit our web site www.utj.org/operation_pesach

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Union for Traditional Judaism
811 Palisade Ave
Teaneck, NJ 07666
United States

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UTJ-News Real-Time Torah on-line classes begin

2009-12-02T10:08:29Z

Genuine Faith and Intellectual Honesty � Real-Time Torah on-line

The Institute of Traditional Judaism (ITJ, the Metivta) announces the successful implementation of its new Real-Time on-line shiurim. Now, students from across the continent are able to take part in our classes in real time and be heard and seen by the teacher and all other students.

On Tuesday evening, November 17, Rabbi Ronald D. Price, Dean of the Metivta, inaugurated the new Distance Learning program from the ITJ�s Teaneck headquarters, with a course entitled �Judaism from Within�. The remainder of this semester�s shiurim will be taught by Rabbi Dr. Alan Yuter from his office in Baltimore.

Two courses are available for immediate registration and participation. Please contact the ITJ office directly if you or someone you know would like to begin learning with us.

E-mail: info@themetivta.org
Phone: 201-801-0707, ext. 200
or visit our Web site: www.themetivta.org

Tuesday classes available for immediate registration:

Class #1: Judaism From Within

6:00-7:30 p.m. EST

After introducing the Jewish legal system through study of Sabbath laws (Fall Semester), we will show how this system operates in dealing with end-of-life issues, exploring and evaluating the range of opinion and distinguishing between law, usage and folklore. We will study the laws of Aveilut (Mourning) in the Spring Semester.

Class #2: Neviim Rishonim (Early Prophets)

7:30-9:00 p.m. EST

We will study two works as religious literature: the Book of Joshua in the Fall Semester and the Book of Judges in the Spring Semester, referencing the material culture and archaeological finds as relevant, exploring the perspective of classical Jewish and modern literary methodologies.

Other courses will be offered later in the year. Check our Web site for their starting dates and times.

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Union for Traditional Judaism
811 Palisade Ave
Teaneck, NJ 07666
United States

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"Surviving Surviving" will be Highlighted at UTJ Gala

2009-09-22T19:31:16Z

UTJ Annual Dinner to Honor Three Generations

Those recognized at the gala event sponsored annually by the Union for Traditional Judaism are usually elder-statesmen and long-time supporters of the work of our organization. While this year is no exception to that rule, there is a new and young player among our honorees.

Three families who have been mainstays of the UTJ/ITJ/Morashah community will be feted on November 4, 2009 at the Glenpointe Marriott Hotel in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Rabbi Robert and Maxine Pilavin of Manalapan, NJ will receive the Emunah v�Yosher Award for their steadfast commitment to the ideals and ideology of the UTJ since its inception. Rabbi Pilavin has served as a member of the UTJ Board and is an officer of Morashah, the rabbinic fellowship of the UTJ. He is a 2004 musmakh of the Institute of Traditional Judaism, the Metivta and he was an editor of the UTJ Web site�s FAQ and co-editor of Cornerstone, volume 2.

Manny Needle and his son and daughter-in-law Daniel and Etty Needle of Maplewood, New Jersey, are to receive the Lomed v�Oseh Award, given annually to those who in their daily lives represent the value of commitment to learning and to action based on their learning on behalf of the community. Manny was an early supporter of the UTJ and is a long-time member of the UTJ Board. He has worked tirelessly over the years for the greater Jewish community and for many non-profit causes. Dan, with staunch support from Etty, has recently become a central figure in UTJ�s ongoing planning and development and we are proud to be able to claim two generations of the Needle family members as our leadership.

Joe Klein, of Woodmere, NY is now in high school but was only in the eighth grade when he produced a startlingly professional and deeply moving documentary film about Holocaust survivors who today find themselves in poverty. Joe will be recognized at our dinner with the MTV Challenge Youth Award for that documentary entitled �Surviving Surviving�. He has opened the eyes of the Jewish world to the quiet suffering of Jews who in old age find themselves alone... again. Although the MTV Challenge Award would be given to professionals in the electronic media (Norman Gunzenhauser, the writer of Murphy Brown and Rugrats received it last time), we felt Joe�s contribution at such an early age warranted special recognition and encouragement. More on this young talented idealist and the MTV Challenge curriculum as the dinner approaches.

Please visit our web-site at http://www.utj.org/annualdinner2009 or click here to make your reservations and place your ads honoring these individuals who would never seek but so well deserve this recognition. Payment can be securely made on-line. If you prefer, you may also download and print your ad-blank and mail or fax it to us ( http://www.utj.org/sites/default/files/Ad_Blank.pdf ). Thank you.

UTJ-News New Rabbis Ordained - ITJ Chag Hasemikhah (Semikhah Celebration)

2009-09-03T14:37:44Z

Some are already rabbis who took upon themselves rigorous additional learning. Others are young men who sought out a place that combined serious Torah learning with an halakhic approach to Jewish Law and observance that also fosters open-minded questioning.

On Wednesday, Sept. 9, these students, ranging in age from their 30s to their 50s will come together to be ordained in a special Chag HaSemikhah ceremony at the Institute of Traditional Judaism (the Metivta), the educational arm of the Union for Traditional Judaism.

�What is especially exciting about this graduating class � beyond being one of our biggest � is the breadth of learning they represent,� said UTJ Executive V.P. and Dean of the Metivta, Rabbi Ronald D. Price. �Some are accomplished scholars who were eager to advance their learning; while several others chose the UTJ over larger institutions because of the world-class Rabbinic faculty we have and the openness in which they could learn. Two of those about to receive semikhah studied in our full-time program for 5 years after having received PhD�s, one in Chemistry and one in Nuclear Physics.�

�For nearly three decades we have been promoting a message of �Genuine Faith and Intellectual Honesty�, emunah tzerufah v�yosher da�at, and we are thrilled to see our students going out into the world to spread that message in schools where they teach, in shuls they have founded and serve, in communal organizations they lead and throughout the world of cyberspace,� Rabbi Price said.

The ITJ faculty features Rav David Halivni, one of the generation�s outstanding Talmudists and the Reish Metivta of the ITJ. Rav Halivni will confer semikhah and give a D�var Torah at the ordination ceremony. Other ITJ faculty include Sephardic Hakham Dr. Isaac Sassoon, of NY, Rabbi Dr. Alan Yuter of Baltimore, MD, Rabbi Gershon Bacon, Jerusalem, Rabbi Prof. David Novak of Toronto, Rabbis Richard Wolpoe and Leonard Levy of NJ and NY and Dr. Michael Kaplowitz of NY.

Three of those receiving semikhah, have studied at the Metivta for four or more years. They are:

Steven Suson of Denver Colorado, a former Jewish camp director and Jewish educator
Chaim Solomon, of Mount Dora, Florida who founded The UTJ Congregation of Mount Dora in Florida while still a student
Eugene Shafir, of Bendery, Moldova who also helped design the newest website of the UTJ at www.utj.org

Joining them are two rabbis who have previous ordination and have been learning in the UTJ�s Advanced Semikhah program:

Rabbi Leonard Levy, faculty member, Institute of Traditional Judaism
Rabbi David Bauman, Rabbi of Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Overland Park, Kansas.

To learn more about the Metivta Ordination Ceremony, call 201-801-0707 ext. 200, or email office@utj.org.