Classes on the Keter Shem Tob

In academic year 2012 - 2013, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School introduced a "haburah seder" in which students could learn a sefer of their choice during the hour after Minhah each day.  A group of seven students decided to study the Keter Shem Tob together, with three days of "seder time" (focused textual study) culminating in class on the fourth day.

---

Classes from 5774

Session 32 – 12.18.13

Joel Dinin

Daily Ngarbit

• Topic of the class:  the obligation of reading Ngarbit, and why no community repeats the Ngamidah
• Readings for seder:  weekly Ngarbit, Vol. I, pp. 163-167
• Handout: download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
• Audio recording: listen to Session 32 online (37 mins; can take a short interval to load)

---

Session 31 – 12.10.13

Gabriel Seed

Daily Minhah

• Topic of the class: the east-west divide on the silent Ngamidah at Minhah
  
• Readings for seder:  Minhah VeHazarah, Vol. I, pp. 159-161
• Handout: download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
• Audio recording:  listen to Session 31 online (52 mins; can take a short interval to load)
• Extra reflection:  use of the Keter Shem Tob as a historical resource by non-Orthodox religious scholars
  

---

Session 30 – 12.03.13

Ben Shefter

Daily Life – Birkat HaMazon

• Topic of the class:  Zimun at meals attended by three or more men
• Readings for seder:  Birkat HaMazon, Vol. I, pp. 123-134
  
• Handout: download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
• Audio recording:  listen to Session 30 online (43 mins; can take a short interval to load)

---

Session 29 – 11.21.13

Raif Melhado

Holiday Special – Hanukkah

• Topic of the class:  examining the origins behind Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, and the year 81056
• Readings for seder:  HaNerot Hallalu, Ngal HaNisim, and other miscellanea, Vol II, pp. 527-532
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and external sources
• Audio recording:  listen to Session 29 online (57 mins; can take a short interval to load)
  A few "blips" exist on the file because a clanging radiator in our classroom forced us to re-record some sections and splice them in.

---

Session 28 – 11.12.13

Yarden Soffer

Daily Shaharit, Part VI – Nefilat Apayim

• Topic of the class:  does the ritual of Tahanun change if there is no Sefer Torah present?
• Readings for seder:  customs for the supplicatory prayers, Vol. I, pp. 71-85
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
• Audio recording:  listen to Session 28 online (31 mins; can take a short interval to load)

---

Session 27 – 11.06.13

Joel Dinin

Daily Shaharit, Part V – Kedushah

• Topic of the class:  exactly who says the Kedushah, and why?
• Readings for seder:  the Ngamidah until Nesi'at Kapayim, Vol. I, pp. 53-58
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and the sheet of Kedushah versions
• Audio recording:  listen to Session 27 online (38 mins; can take a short interval to load)

---

Session 26 – 10.29.13

Ben Elton

Daily Shaharit, Part IV – Keri'at Shemang

• Topic of the class:  the great debate over 248 – how many words are really in the Shemang and why?
  
• Readings for seder:  from Barekhu through Ngezrat Abotenu, Vol. I, pp. 46-51
  
• Handout : download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
• Audio recording:   listen to Session 26 online (50 mins; can take a short interval to load)
  

---

Session 25 – 10.24.13

Gabriel Seed

Daily Shaharit, Part III – Zemirot

• Topic of the class:  Psalm 30 and its presence or absence from the daily liturgy
• Readings for seder:  customs from Ana BeKoah through Yishtabah, Vol. I, pp. 28-35
• Handout: download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
• Audio recording:  listen to Session 25 online (50 mins; can take a short interval to load)

---

Session 24 – 10.23.13

Raif Melhado

Daily Shaharit, Part II – Tefillin

• Topic of the class:  using Tefillin as a launch point to explore conflicts between Talmud and Kabbalah
• Readings for seder: customs of Tefillin, Vol. I, pp. 6-9 and 12-18
• Handout: download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  • Referenced article:  "Halakhah, Kabbalah, and Heresy: A Controversy in Early 18th Century Amsterdam," by Matt Goldish
    
• Audio recording: listen to Session 24 online (53 mins; can take a short interval to load)

---

Session 23 – 10.10.13

Ben Shefter

Daily Shaharit, Part I – Reboot

• Topic of the class:  Psalm of the Day
• Readings for seder:  Psalms for various occasions throughout the year, Vol. I, pp. 98-103
• Handout: download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
• Audio recording: listen to Session 23 online (47 mins; can take a short interval to load)

---

Classes from 5773

Salomon L. Vaz Dias

Session 22 – 05.31.13

Guest Speaker:  Rev. Salomon L. Vaz Dias

• Topic of the class:  Spanish and Portuguese Jewry, Writ Large
  
• Readings for seder:  customs of Tallet in London and Amsterdam (in honor of our speaker's birthplace)
  
• Handout:  download Rev. Vaz Dias's article on the impact of Western Sephardim on the Jewish world

Ben Shefter

Session 21 – 05.08.13

Kippur:

• Topic of the class:  the Ngabodah and its description of the Kohen Gadol emerging from the Holy of Holies
• Readings for seder:  blessing the Hatanim at Kal Nidre, Vol. VI, p. 300
  
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Joel Dinin

Session 20 – 05.02.13

Rosh Hashanah:

• Topic of the class:  The Fashions of the Repentant:  what we wear on Rosh HaShanah
• Readings for seder:  giving portions of food to the poor on Ngereb Rosh HaShanah, Vol. VI, p. 60
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
• Images:  man in galabiyya, 2 men in galabiyyas, Rev. Abraham de Sola, top hats in synagogue

Raif Melhado

Session 19 – 04.25.13

Tishngah BeAb:

• Topic of the class:  the "pageantry of mourning" among Spanish and Portuguese Sephardim
• Readings for seder:  traditions of mourning from the Sefer Torah and beyond, Vol V, pp. 53-54
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Hebert Dobrinsky and the source sheet from KST / the siddurim

Ben Elton

Session 18 – 04.18.13

Ngomer:

• Topic of the class:  whether counting the Ngomer is a Biblical or rabbinic commandment in the current era
• Readings for seder:  superstitions around salt during the Ngomer and beyond, Vol. II, pp. 727-728
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Ari Weber

Session 17 – 04.11.13

Shabungot:

• Topic of the class:  how long do we stay up for the Tikkun, and what we learn during this time
• Readings for seder:  the origin of staying up all night, Vol. IV, pp. 11-12
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Yarden Soffer

Session 16 – 03.13.13

Pesah, Part V:

• Topic of the class:  why we read the Haggadah at night and not during the day
• Readings for seder:  reading Hallel at night in synagogue, Vol I, pp. 511-512
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Raif Melhado

Session 15 – 03.07.13

Pesah, Part IV:

• Topic of the class:  the great debate over what to read publicly from the Torah on the different days of Pesah
  
• Readings for seder:  taking out multiple Sifre Torah on special occasions, Vol. III, pp. 290-291
  
• Handout:  download the source sheet on Pesah readings, and the source sheet on Portuguese conservatism
  
  
  
  

Ari Weber

Session 14 – 03.05.13

Pesah, Part III:

• Topic of the class:  the meaning of Korekh in a post-Bet HaMikdash world
• Readings for seder:  etymology of the word "Haroset," Vol III, pp. 90 - 91
• Handout: download the source sheet on Korekh, and the variant texts for Zekher LeMikdash
  
  
  
  

The Haburah

Week 13 – 02.28.13

• Teacher Ari Weber had an unexpected conflict, and will give his class on 03.05.  We used this as an opportunity for another seder session about the Pesah Seder order.
  
• Topic of the seder/handout: the origin, purpose, and textual variants of the Kadesh Urhats poem
  
  
  
  

Joel Dinin

Session 12 – 02.20.13

Pesah, Part I:

• Topic of the class:  soft versus hard Matsah
  
• Readings for seder:  order of the Matsot and other foods on the Seder Plate, Vol III, pp. 52-53
• Handout: download the source sheet on Matsah specs and Rabbi Herschel Shachter's heter for Ashkenazim
  
  
  
  

Ben Elton

Session 11 – 02.12.13

Purim, Part II:

• Topic of the class:  the SheHeheyanu blessing
• Readings for seder:  Megillah verses recited by the congregation, Vol. II, pp. 540 - 541
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Ben Shefter

Session 10 – 02.07.13

Purim, Part I:

• Topic of the class:  attitudes toward drunkenness in the Jewish tradition
• Readings for seder:  drowning out Haman's name, and masquerading, Vol. II, pp. 542 - 545
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Raif Melhado

Intercession – Weekly Postings Through January 2013

Weekdays:

• 01.29:  Liturgical variants of Barukh SheAmar
  
• 01.22:  The surprising case of Mishnah Pe'ah 1:1
  

Shabbat, Part III

• 01.15:  Special verses at Minhah on Shabbat in the London tradition
• 01.08:  The Kedushah of Keter at Musaf
• 01.01:  Reading Haftarot from printed texts versus Kelaf
• 12.27:  Poem for remembering the Seder HaParashiyot
  
  
  

Raif Melhado

Session 9 – 12.13.12

Shabbat, Part II:

• Topic of the class:  the honor of being called to the Sefer – then and now: 17th and 20th centuries
  
• Readings for seder:  blessing the public and honoring the parents, Vol. I, pp. 244 - 246
  
• Handout:  download the source sheet on 1930s customs and the source sheet on communal policy in history
  
  
  
  

Joel Dinin

Session 8 – 12.06.12

Shabbat, Part I:

• Topic of the class:  customs of breaking bread at the Shabbat meal
• Readings for seder:  Kiddush in synagogue and at home, Vol. I, pp. 199 - 202
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Ben Shefter

Session 7 – 11.29.12

Hanukkah, Part III:

• Topic of the class:  eight days and not seven; eight days and not nine
• Readings for seder:  Torah Readings for Hanukkah, and customs for Torah and Haftarah, Vol. II, pp. 524 - 527
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Thanksgiving

Week 6 – 11.22.12

Hanukkah, Part II:  Although there was no class this week due to the holiday of Thanksgiving, there were still two days of seder in which to continue with Rabbi Gaguine's treatment of the holiday of Hanukkah.  Building on last week's session on lighting at home, we studied some sengifim about lighting the Hanukkah in synagogue.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday in which they can connect with family, be thankful for what we have, and share from our bounty with those who have less than us!

Ari Weber

Session 5 – 11.15.12

Hanukkah, Part I:

• Topic of the class:  divergent customs for the order of events for Hanukkah candle blessings and lighting
• Readings for seder:  texts of the Hanukkah blessings; lighting before and after Shabbat, Vol. II, pp. 515 - 518
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Joel Dinin

Session 4 – 11.08.12

Customs of Sickness, Death, and Burial:

• Topic of the class:  halakhah and customs of burial in the ground vs. coffins or crypts
• Readings for seder:  changing the name of a sick person, dying, and death, Vol. II, pp. 642 - 646
• Handout:  download the source sheet from Keter Shem Tob and other sifre kodesh
  
  
  
  

Sandy

Week 3 – 11.01.12

Customs of Bar Mitsvah:  This week, normal life in NYC ground to a halt for several days as a late-season storm reminded us of nature's unpredictable might.  Since YCT cancelled classes and several of our group members were away volunteering in the harder-hit areas, our first meeting did not take place until the normal teaching slot on Thursday. However, we did cover some fruitful ground in the time we had:

• We learned several interesting sengifim on the customs of Bar Mitsvah
• We agreed on a schedule of topics to cover between now and May

Raif Melhado

Weeks 1 & 2 – 10.18.12 and 10.25.13

Getting Started:  The material covered in the first two classes gave Raif the idea to make this website.  In the first session, we spoke about Rabbi Gaguine's life and what we should know about the Keter Shem Tob before we begin using it, and then we read a sample sengif from the beginning of Volume VII.  In the second session we covered the introduction to Volume III (which we read during the first two weeks of seder), as well as some outside perspectives on contemporary attitudes to mitzvot, and Sephardic conceptions of identity during the 17th century.  With that as our foundation, we are ready to begin a fun series of classes on the Keter Shem Tob during the rest of the academic year.