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December 2, 2021

Shemittah in the Mishnah: Challenges and Opportunities

Rabbi Avraham Walfish

Rabbi Avraham Walfish

A retired teacher of Talmudic Literature and Rabbinic Thought, Avraham (Avie) Walfish was recently appointed as head of the Halakhic Beit Midrash of the Beit Hillel Rabbinical Organization.  At Yeshiva University he completed his B.A. in philosophy, while studying Talmud with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveichik. After making aliyah, he received his rabbinic ordination from R. Zalman Nehemiah Goldberg and completed his M.A. and Ph.D. at Hebrew University, writing his dissertation on literary features of Mishnah. He has taught and lectured in many frameworks in Israel and abroad, including Herzog College, Michlala, Pardes Institute, Bar Ilan University, and Drisha. His extensive publications in different areas of Jewish studies include the Iyun Mishnah website and a commentary on Mishnah Berakhot, Mishnaic Tapestries. In 2005 he was awarded the Prize of the Israeli Minister of Education for creative work in Jewish culture.

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This class will undertake the close study of Mishnayot Sheviit BeIyyun, working through the Masechta with a focus on literary and conceptual issues. We expect to cover the following material over the four classes:

1. Chapters 1-3: Resting the Land – Timeline and Operations

2. Chapters 4-5: Benefiting from the Land and Benefiting Fellow Man

3. Chapters 6-9: Boundaries of the Land and Use of Shemittah Produce

4. Chapter 10: Shemitat Kesafim (Release of Money) and its Challenges

Session 1

Session 1 - 11/29/2021

Session 2

Session 2 - 12/06/2021

Session 3

Session 3 - 12/13/2021

Session 4

Session 4 - 12/20/2021
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