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236 Kane Street / Brooklyn, NY 11231 / 718 875-1550

The Book of Knowledge: From the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides – A Community-wide Learning

[Past Program]

About the Learning: Following up on our recently completed year-long Pirkei Avot study, our community is now learning The Book of Knowledge from the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides. Sefer Ha-Madda (The Book of Knowledge) examines fundamentals of Jewish faith and life, and we will be studying its chapters on personal development, Torah study, and Teshuvah. (Study Sign-Up Sheet). The Mishneh Torah is Rambam’s masterwork and an authoritative code of Jewish law. The language, ideas, and insights in it are accessible and engaging, whether you are new to Jewish learning or have an extensive background. We will begin our study in September with teachings from the sections on Teshuva (return) in preparation for the High Holidays (see learning schedule below).

How to Join the Study? The questions, challenges, and perspectives offered through the Misnhneh Torah are, like so much of Jewish text, often best learned with study partners who can help one another understand, appreciate, and argue over the meaning and significance of the ideas presented. You’ll get to know the text and each other.

Add your name to the Study Sign-Up Sheet to either join one of the groups, form a new study group with other community members, or add your name and we will connect you with others who are interested in learning together. We suggest study groups of 2-6 people. You can also sign up to learn as a family.

When, Where, and How to Study: The Mishneh Torah is made up of individual teachings that are usually one sentence to a short paragraph each. In order to keep everyone simultaneously learning the same material, and engaged with an amount of text that can be regularly covered in an hour of study together, we suggest study groups meet every other week. A tentative learning schedule (included below) will allow us to complete our study by Shavuot in May 2021. Learners can join the study at any time.

The schedule will be occasionally updated with brief study aids. At the moment, study groups will continue to meet on Zoom. During the study, we will also plan a few opportunities for all the study groups to gather together to learn. 

Which Version of the Mishneh Torah to Use? You can access free online editions of the the Mishneh Torah (in both English and Hebrew and with commentaries) through Sefaria and Chabad. Many other editions are also available.


Tentative Schedule & Study Resources

Learning Period Online Editions from Chabad and Sefaria
September 2020 Teshuva Ch 1-4
October  Teshuva Ch 1-4; 4:5, 5:3, 6:5, 7:3-4 and 8, 10: 4-6
November De’ot: Personal Development Ch 1-2
December De’ot: Personal Development Ch 3-4
January De’ot: Personal Development Ch 5-6
February De’ot: Personal Development Ch 7
March De’ot: Personal Development Ch 7
April  Torah Study Ch 1
May  Torah Study Ch 3

 

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