Session 1: Sunday, March 7 at 10:30 AM with Dr. Joshua Kulp
Rabbits and Lettuce: The History of the Haggadah in Text and Art:

Aside from the Bible, there might be more different editions of the Passover Haggadah than any other book in history. The Haggadah and Passover seder originated in the land of Israel after the destruction of the Second Temple, and continue to be one of the most observed Jewish rituals throughout the world. This unique visual presentation will show how the Haggadah’s texts and the seder’s customs developed over the centuries and how Jews shaped their traditions in reaction to the places throughout the world in which they lived. Come and learn of the Seder’s fascinating history and pick up some fascinating information to share at your own seders.

Session 2: Sunday, March 14 at 10:30 AM with Dr. Joshua Kulp
Jews and Christians at the Seder: Our Shared History of Celebration and Suffering:

Passover is the most important biblical holiday not only for Jews, but in a certain sense for Christians as well. The end of Jesus's life and the meaning Christians see in his death is connected to the meaning of Pesah. In this class we will explore moments in which Jews and Christians clashed and connected over the history and meaning of Pesah, from the very birth of Christianity, through the blood libels of the Middle Ages and until the modern period of reconciliation. 
 

Session 3: Sunday, March 21 at 9:30 AM with Ilana Kurshan
Defense Against Dark Arts: The Demons in Egypt and at our Seder Table

In this class we will examine the role of magic and demonology in the narrative of the ten plagues as depicted in the Torah and midrash. We will study how the Talmudic rabbis draw upon the exodus story in discussing the prohibition on magic, and we will look at the extent to which magic and sorcery were part of their milieu. We will conclude by studying a passage from tractate Pesachim about the fear of demons at the Seder table and consider what this preoccupation with invisible forces can teach us about microscopic entities at work in our world today, and the miracle of divine deliverance. 
 

Dr. Joshua Kulp is co-founder of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem where he has taught Talmud and halakhah for the last 20 years. He is the author of the recently published book Reconstructing the Talmud (Mechon Hadar, 2014) as well as the The Schechter Haggadah: Art, History and Commentary (Schechter Press, 2008). Beginning in 2001 and continuing through 2013, Dr. Kulp authored a commentary in English on the entire Mishnah, which served as the basis for the Mishnah Yomit project. In 2013 Dr. Kulp began the Daf Shevui program, the study of one daf of Talmud per week and has so far completed a commentary on Tractates Sukkah and Megillah and has begun work on Tractate Ketubot. Dr. Kulp was raised in Margate, New Jersey, where his family was active in the Conservative Movement. He spent his summers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, Camp Ramah in Canada and for the last ten summers, he has served as the scholar-in-residence at Camp Ramah in New England. Dr. Kulp made aliyah in 1994 and currently lives in Modiin with his wife, Julie Zuckerman, and their four children. In his spare time, he is an avid triathlete and runner and has completed three Ironmans.

Ilana Kurshan teaches Talmud at the CY. She is the author of If All the Seas Were Ink (St. Martin's Press, 2017) and Why is This Night Different From All Other Nights (Schocken, 2005). She has a degree in History of Science from Harvard and in English literature from Cambridge, and she has worked in literary publishing both in New York and in Jerusalem -- as a translator, a foreign rights agent, and as the Books Editor of Lilith Magazine. She has translated books of Jewish studies by Ruth Calderon, Benjamin Lau, and Micah Goodman, as well as novels, short stories, and children's picture books.