Translating Talmud Series: Bridging Scholarship and Students

This special series of the Grand Conversation is devoted to the topic of Gemara Education. Our guest host is Rabbi Tully Harcsztark, Founding Principal of SAR HS and Dean of Machon Siach.

Over the past several years, Machon Siach has convened a Faculty Beit Midrash to develop a shared language for teaching gemara to Modern Orthodox High School students. As part of its research, faculty collaborate with scholars in the field to discuss ways to meaningfully translate their scholarship into the classroom.

This series features one-on-one conversations between Rabbi Harcsztark and outstanding gemara scholars.

In this first episode of the series, Rabbi Harcsztark and Dr. Elana Stein Hain have a timely discussion on whether and how to teach the talmudic sugya of redeeming captives in the aftermath of the Hamas terror attacks and taking of some 200 Israeli hostages. They also discuss Dr. Stein Hain’s research (and soon-to-be-published book Circumventing the Law) on legal loopholes in rabbinic literature and how to teach this subject to high school students and adults.