#YourTorah

If you have enjoyed #YourTorah, we invite you to experience PrayerFull: the guided prayer podcast, brought to you by our producer Rabba Dina Brawer with Rabbanit Leah Sarna

Rabba Dina Brawer wraps up the YourTorah journey, and shares an overview of the project. Help us understand the impact of YourTorah by sharing your feedback here in our brief form. This episode is sponsored by Yeshivat Maharat , the first institution to ordain women as Orthodox clergy, and where JOFA UK's founder, Dina Brawer, recently received semikha. Dina joins a cohort of 26 graduates who are currently leading communities and organizations across North America, Europe and Israel. Rabba Dina Brawer studied Torah in Jerusalem, New York and London. Dina’s life journey led her to do things she never dreamed of, including launching an Orthodox feminist movement in the UK and studying for Orthodox semikha (rabbinic ordination) at Yeshivat Maharat in NY - she received semikha earlier this year.

Rabba Claudia Marbach opens up the final masekhet of the Mishnah, Oktzin, looking at the study of Mishnah and how it constitutes part of the pleasures of this world. Rabba Claudia Marbach recently received semikha from Yeshivat Maharat , NY. She has launched a pop-up beit midrash for women in Boston, called One Night Shtender. Before Yeshivat Maharat, Claudia was a middle school teacher at JCDS Boston, a pluralistic Jewish Day School, for fifteen years, where she developed a Rabbinics curriculum. She founded a partnership minyan and participates in interfaith dialogue. Claudia received her BA in English from Barnard College, and JD from Boston University.

Leah Sarna opens up masekhet Yadayim, unpacking how hands are made impure and looking at how King Solomon created 'tumat yadayim' - the impurities of the hands. Leah Sarna is a fourth year student at Yeshivat Maharat , a Wexner Graduate Fellow and a Mishnah junkie. Leah has taught Torah to adults and teens around the world, stretching from New York City to London, Tel Aviv and Melbourne. Starting this summer, she will begin working as the Director of Religious Engagement at Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, IL.

Yardaena Osband introduces Tevul Yom, looking into how different statuses - for instance that of the tevul yom - impact when and how a person imparts impurity. Yardaena Osband, MD is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. Yardaena studied for two years in Midreshet Lindenbaum and received her BA in Jewish Studies and Music at Yeshiva University, Stern College for Women. Yardaena attended medical school at the Sackler School for medicine and completed her residency in Pediatrics at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, New York. She has taught in many schools, synagogues, and has been a scholar in residence in many communities. She lectures on Tanach, Halacha, and Talmud with a specific interest in the biographies of the Taanim and Amoraim. Yardaena also serves on the board of ORA (Organization for the Resolution of Agunot), The Riverdale Minyan and is a founder of the Orthodox Leadership Project . Yardaena currently resides in Riverdale, New York with her husband and children.

Shayna Abramson dives into masekhet Zavim, unpacking its laws of ritual impurity, and demonstrating that even texts that may seem irrelevant to our lives have the capacity to teach us moral truths. Shayna Abramson is a native New Yorker and an alumni of Midreshet Harova and of Drisha's Beit Midrash programme. She is currently pursuing Masters degrees in Politics and Jewish Education from Hebrew University.

Rabbi Aviva Richman looks into masekhet Makhshirin, unpacking how its discussion of the purity of objects provides us with a chance to become more aware of our intentions in our day-to-day lives. Rabbi Aviva Richman is on faculty at the Hadar Institute in New York where she teaches Talmud, Halakhah, Midrash and Hasidut. She received private semikhah from Rabbi Danny Landes in Jerusalem, and is a doctoral candidate in Talmud at New York University. She lives in Riverdale, NY with her spouse, Tzemah, and kids Boaz, Elisha and Benaya. Check out Aviva's lecture series ' Rabbinic Voices and Sexual Assault ' at the Hadar Institute, and her blog on the subject .

Nechama Goldman Barash introduces masekhet Niddah, tracing the laws governing sexual intimacy from their origins in Torah, through to their explication in the Mishnah - and their application today. NB: This episode contains sexually explicit material Nechama Goldman Barash is a senior faculty member at Machon Pardes , Matan and Midreshet Torah V'avodah - three learning institutions in Jerusalem. She has been studying Talmud and rabbinic texts for the last thirty years and in the last seven years has dedicated her time to studying Halakhah intensively.

Ellyse Borghi introduces masekhet Mikvaot, looking at the way in which the mikvah serves as a reminder of our role in the world as creators seeking to emulate the Divine. Ellyse Borghi is a children's lawyer by day and a Torah learner and teacher by night. Ellyse is in her second year of studies for Orthodox smicha through Yeshivat Har'El in Jerusalem. Some of the more distant places where Ellyse has taught Torah are Hong Kong, Ghana and Canberra. She is passionate about working to release Agunot and is a member of Shira Chadasha Melbourne.

Atara Cohen unpacks masekhet Tahorot, looking at how impurity flows from one object to another and exploring how the Mishnah bestows certainty on an uncertain world. Atara Cohen graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Religion and a certificate in Judaic Studies, where she focused her non-academic time on interfaith work. After studying Torah in a variety of settings, including Midreshet Nishmat , Yeshivat Hadar , and the Drisha Institute throughout college, she began to study full time at Yeshivat Maharat. She was a fellow at T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights , and now works at Columbia/Barnard Hillel as a rabbinic intern.

Cecilia Haendler introduces masekhet Parah, unpacking the ritual of the red heifer and exploring how it creates a mysterious and powerful bridge to Oral Torah. Cecilia Haendler, born in Florence, Italy, lives in Paris with her husband Yair and is doing a PhD on gendered metaphorical language in Tannaitic literature at the Freie Universität Berlin. For the series A Feminist Commentary on the Babylonian Talmud she is writing about Hallah, Orlah and Bikkurim. She has worked as a research associate in the project A Digital Synopsis of the Mishnah and Tosefta and she has learned at the Nishmat Center for Advanced Torah Study.

Devorah Zlochower unpacks masekhet Negaim, examining its categorisation of afflictions, and their corresponding symptoms and purification rituals, as well as drawing out its insights into human behaviour. Devorah Zlochower is Executive Editor of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School's Lindenbaum Center for Halakhic Studies and a rebbe at YCT. She has taught Gemara and halakhah for over two decades at YCT, Mechon Hadar , SAR High School and Drisha Institute where she was Rosh Beit Midrash. She lives in Riverdale.

Rabba Dr. Carmella Abraham looks into masekhet Ohalot, reflecting on end of life experiences and inviting us to see the taharah (purity) behind the tumah (impurity). This YourTorah episode is dedicated by Rabba Dr. Carmella Abraham in memory of her mother Livana bat David ve'Batsheva z"l. With a medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and semikha (ordination) from Yeshivat Maharat, Rabba Dr. Carmella Abraham brings her background as a physician to her study of Jewish texts and practice. While at Yeshivat Maharat, she developed and co-taught the Women’s Health and Niddah curriculum, as well as interned at the Hillels of Westchester, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital Chaplaincy Program and served as a Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Created Equal Seminar Fellowship. As a member of the Women’s Health Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, she held a dual appointment in Internal Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Rabba Dr. Carmella currently serves as Community Educator in Westchester and works in Oncology Medical Affairs for the pharmaceutical industry. She lives in White Plains, New York with her husband, Dr. Steven Kubersky, and their three children.

Leah Rosenthal presents masekhet Kelim, exploring its discussion of the purity of objects and noting the way physical objects act as a portal into daily life in Mishnaic times. Leah Rosenthal has been teaching Talmud at the Pelech High School for Girls and at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem for over thirty years. She has a BA in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy, and an MA in Jewish Education, both from the Hebrew University.

Dr. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz introduces Seder Tohorot, looking into its exploration of the purity system, and noting the way it marks the boundaries between life and death. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz studied archaeology at Cambridge and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and recently completed a PhD at University College London on the religious lives of Orthodox Jewish women, which will be published as a book. She is a Teaching Fellow at London School of Jewish Studies, an occasional lecturer at Cambridge and Oxford, edits academic books, is involved in Scriptural Reasoning and interfaith activity, and has taught young & old in the Jewish community for the past 15 years.

Rabba Dr. Carmella Abraham introduces masekhet Kinnim, encouraging listeners to work through its complex mishnayot using logic and reasoning. With a medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and semikha (ordination) from Yeshivat Maharat, Rabba Dr. Carmella Abraham brings her background as a physician to her study of Jewish texts and practice. While at Yeshivat Maharat, she developed and co-taught the Women’s Health and Niddah curriculum, as well as interned at the Hillels of Westchester, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital Chaplaincy Program and served as a Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Created Equal Seminar Fellowship. As a member of the Women’s Health Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, she held a dual appointment in Internal Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Rabba Dr. Carmella currently serves as Community Educator in Westchester and works in Oncology Medical Affairs for the pharmaceutical industry. She lives in White Plains, New York with her husband, Dr. Steven Kubersky, and their three children.

Shira Eliassian opens up masekhet Middot, taking us on an audio-visual tour of the Temple, and exploring how studying this masekhet serves as a psychological surrogate for making our pilgrimage there. Entry on Temple in Rabbinic Literature on JewishEncyclopedia.com - This article includes an overview of Har HaBayit and the Azarah with labels in English. Overview of the Azarah with labels in Hebrew. Virtual Tour of Temple on YouTube - There's sappy music in the background and doesn't include labels, but helps to visualize the entire Har HaBayit. BONUS: Digitized version of Maimonides' Commentary on the Mishnah , courtesy of the Polonsky Foundation and the Bodleian Library at Oxford University. This is a manuscript authored by Maimonides himself, and is the first recorded attempt to translate the text of Middot into diagrams. The link will direct you to the beginning of his commentary on Middot. Shira Eliassian is currently pursuing a Masters in Religion at University of Chicago's Divinity School. Her studies focus on how religion is expressed through literature and visual culture. Shira has created programming and online education for JOFA and is currently editor of The JOFA Blog. This March she visited the UK as JOFA UK's Be'er Miriam scholar.

Leah Shakdiel introduces masekhet Tamid, opening up its account of daily Temple worship, and noting the importance of continually striving to link our ancestors' spirituality with our own. Leah Shakdiel was born in Jerusalem in 1951 to a family of Modern Orthodox pioneers. She moved to Yeruham, a small development town in the Negev Desert, in 1978, with a group committed to Halacha, social responsibility, peace, and ecology. She is married to psychologist Dr. Moshe Landsman, and is mother of Rachel (36), Tzvi (34), and Pinchas (32), and grandmother of Toviya (13), Channah (11), Miriam (10), and Batya (6). Leah has a BA from Bar Ilan University in English and French Literatures. Her other studies include Bible and Oral Law, Jewish Thought, Jewish History, and Education. She taught Hebrew and Jewish studies, developed teaching materials, trained teachers, coordinated and directed projects and institutions in the areas of education and community. She has taught courses on Jewish feminism, state and religion, and Israeli society, at the Schechter Institute and at Sapir College. Leah is socially and politically active on behalf of peace, empowering the disadvantaged, civil and human rights, and feminism. She has published academic and popular articles in all these areas. She served as the first Yeruham town council female member ever (1983-8), and in 1988 became Israel’s first female member of a local Religious Council, following a successful struggle that ended with a landmark Supreme Court decision. As a School for Educational Leadership Fellow (1994-6) she developed a model for feminist pedagogy for Israel. She is the recipient of the Yig'al Alon Prize for Lifework as Pioneer (2009), the Israeli Parliament Distinction for Women Leading Change (twice, 1999, 2015), and the New Israel Fund UK Prize for Human Rights (2014). She currently teaches in various post-high school pre-military programmes, and is studying towards Orthodox rabbinical ordination in Beit Midrash Har'el, Jerusalem.

Yardaena Osband opens up masekhet Meilah, unpacking the laws surrounding the accidental misuse of consecrated objects. Yardaena Osband, MD is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. Yardaena studied for two years at Midreshet Lindenbaum and received her BA in Jewish Studies and Music at Yeshiva University, Stern College for Women. Yardaena attended medical school at the Sackler School for medicine and completed her residency in Pediatrics at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, New York. She has taught in many schools, synagogues, and has been a scholar in residence in many communities. She lectures on Tanach, Halacha, and Talmud with a specific interest in the biographies of the Taanim and Amoraim. Yardaena also serves on the board of ORA (Organization for the Resolution of Agunot), The Riverdale Minyan and is a founder of the Orthodox Leadership Project. Yardaena currently resides in Riverdale, New York with husband and children.

Maharat Rachel Kohl Finegold introduces masekhet Keritot, exploring sins, their punishments and how karet can be instructive, informing our connectedness. Maharat Rachel Kohl Finegold is the Director of Education and Spiritual Enrichment at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal. She received her B.A. in Religion from Boston University and is a graduate of the Drisha Scholars Circle in New York. She was ordained as part of the inaugural class of Yeshivat Maharat, the first institution to train Orthodox women as clergy. Originally from New York, Rachel lives in Montreal with her husband, Rabbi Avi Finegold, and their three daughters.