As one of few observant Jews in her school, a young TorahTutors student felt overwhelmed trying to explain her family’s dietary restrictions and asked to learn about kashrut. Her online tutor opened the topic with a brainstorming session, using WebEx’s file sharing and annotation tools to encourage independent thought and prepare to explore texts together.…
A musically inclined TorahTutors student was interested in King David, particularly his early years playing music for his predecessor, Saul. She and her tutor explored a variety of perspectives on the nature of the melancholy that came over Saul and how David’s music helped. Was it simply the distraction of pleasant music that took Saul’s…
The Mishna in Berachot 8:2 reports that when planning to drink wine before a meal, Beit Shamai believes one should first wash and then drink the wine, while according to Beit Hillel, we first drink the cup of wine and then wash hands for the meal. A small group of TorahTutors students got busy analyzing…