CAPTIVATING CASES

Do Rabbis ever… just guess?

Ever wonder how rabbis decide what’s kosher—or who’s right in a dispute?

Join us for our newest JLI course: Captivating Cases. It explores 30 real-life cases that each landed on various rabbis’ desks across history.

These are real, unfiltered questions people asked: from 1300 to 1732 and 2025.

Some are heartbreaking dilemmas of life and death, and some are as simple as what to do when a wedding goes overtime—but they’re all fascinating:

• Anxious parents asking if they can stop their child from eloping

• Cash-strapped communities trying to cover the costs of ransoming Jews after a blood libel

• A desperate father in Auschwitz asks if it’s right to save his only son from certain death, since another will take his son’s place

• Evaluating a modern inquiry regarding the ethical boundaries of AI in legal practice

• +many more

How does a rabbi answer such questions?

This is an unprecedented chance to see how Jewish law works behind the scenes.

We’ll follow rabbis across history as they investigate the facts, weigh Talmudic precedent, and ensure that key values—like human dignity—are protected in their final decisions.

This course will give you an appreciation for the majesty and sophistication of Jewish law.

(No previous Jewish learning required.)